One-quarter in, Orlando Magic feel they are coming together

The Orlando Magic are off to a surprising start. They credit their continued improvement and better approach as they start to come together.

When Steve Clifford walked into the Orlando Magic job, he said he wanted to give the whole team and its players a fresh look. He would do his study and understand the players as people — meeting with players like Nikola Vucevic and D.J. Augustin in town and traveling out to meet others like Aaron Gordon.

It might have been easy for those on the outside to get a bit jaded looking at this group. It is largely the same group that struggled to win 30 games in each of the last two years. They are a group with little success to their name.

But Clifford sensed something different in this group early on. There was a new determination about them. Players were putting in more serious work and Clifford could sense a real desire to win.

He had his information from talking to the players, Jeff Weltman and John Hammond and performance director David Tenney. He began devising how the team was going to play.

The question was whether and how they would respond. Especially welcoming a new coach once again in the revolving door that has become the Magic’s seat.

One-quarter of the way through the season, the results are encouraging if not completely successful.

The team is sitting at 11-12 and eighth place in the Eastern Conference. That is after facing one of the toughest schedules in the league to this point — Clifford said, looking at the Orlando Magic’s public relations team to confirm, it was the fifth hardest schedule in the league entering Friday’s game against the Phoenix Suns.

But the team’s success is more than that. It is the progress the team has made to buy into Clifford’s system and execute it on the floor. It has hardly been perfect and there is still a long way to go. But the Magic have been pleased with where they sit so far.

"“I think guys are starting to know where they need to be,” D.J. Augustin said. “We’re communicating on the floor. It is starting to show in games, especially on the road.”"

It is undeniable to see how much the team has grown. The basic numbers do that talking.

Through the first six games of the season (a small sample size), the Magic were one of the worst teams in the league.

Their offense was dead last — 99.0 points per 100 possessions, the only team scoring less than a point per possession. And the defense was not doing a whole lot more — 20th in the league giving up 111.0 points per 100 possessions.

The Orlando Magic scored what felt like a nice win over the Boston Celtics. But lethargic and lackluster performances like the one against the LA Clippers were becoming common. It was unclear whether Clifford’s philosophy was sinking in or if anyone could wring much out of the roster as it was currently made up.

Things flipped quickly with that group though. The Orlando Magic went on the road to beat the San Antonio Spurs and won seven of the team’s next nine games. That run put the Magic firmly in the early Playoff hunt.

Since Nov. 3, the Magic are scoring 110.0 points per 100 possessions (10th in the league) and giving up 107.3 points per 100 possessions (14th in the league). The dramatic improvements on both ends have shown a team with fight and resilience.

The Magic, at the very least, are buying in and fighting through struggles to give themselves a chance to win most nights.

"“I think the number one thing any coach in this league will tell you is its all about making progress through 82 games,” Clifford said. “Trying to evaluate what was good, what was bad. And then it’s really, do you have the right kind of group that understands you have to play better and better. I feel our better players are leading the way and the other guys are doing the same thing.”"

Of course, there is still a long way to go. No one is celebrating anything yet.

The team has lost plenty of leads and has had its fair share of struggles late in games. Many of the Magic’s league-leading clutch situations came because they were unable to put teams away and led to a frantic finish. They have had plenty of mess ups late too.

And then there are Clifford’s own goals. He said he felt the team needed to be top-10 in defense and top-half in offense overall for the Magic to make the Playoffs.

The defense still leaves something to be desired as its attention to detail and physical intensity can wane for long stretches. And the offense can still go through deep lulls.

Fans do not quite trust anything yet. It still feels as though the Magic require full attention and effort to maintain a high level of play.

Clifford still delivers stern messages to his team — like he did after the loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. But the Magic have taken those lessons to heart and moved on quickly, improving along the way.

"“The thing I am happiest about is sometimes we may lose a close game or a tough game or we may get blown out by a team we should beat, but the next day we put it behind us and get better,” Augustin said. “We have done it numerous times this year. That’s the biggest thing this year that I see we’re doing. We’re not putting out heads down. We’re just trying to get better game by game.”"

Augustin said previous teams would have let some bad losses affect them the next game or the next practice. And that has a snowballing effect. The team’s attitude has changed in a major way to prevent those setbacks from piling up.

Augustin said the team’s attitude has changed from last year. The team’s approach — win or lose — is much more focused. Even when players are struggling offensively, they are still finding ways to contribute.

That is a huge change for the Magic. And the results speak for themselves at the moment.

Orlando undoubtedly still has a lot of work to do. But at the quarter mark of the season, the Magic are starting to buy in and are coming together.