Steve Clifford’s outlook on Orlando Magic’s rotations need to change

Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford can have his preset rotations to follow a game plan but has to be willing to break away if a player catches fire.

The Orlando Magic are very close to turning the corner and close to beating good teams, but their weaknesses are being highlighted. The Magic could easily have started their road trip at 3-0, but their glaring problems have cost them and left them home 1-3 and truly humbled after a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.

Again and again, the same problems are exploited.

Throughout the beginning of the season, Magic coach Steve Clifford has made questionable rotation decisions and struggled to adjust to the flow and rhythm of the game. And these decisions are starting to hurt the Magic.

Having a preset rotation is important. Clifford has long believed players need a certain amount of time to get into a rhythm of the game. This is why he prefers a nine-man rotation to make sure everyone gets their chance to make an impact on the game.

He also understands it is a long season. It is a marathon not a sprint and the extra rest he gives a player might add up at the end of the season when he anticipates the team will be at its best.

But, there have been too many instances where Clifford finds himself in situations where he chooses to stick to his preset rotations through moments where it does not make sense.

In Tuesday’s 109-102 loss to the Utah Jazz, the Orlando Magic found themselves down 18 in the third quarter. D.J. Augustin led a comeback for Orlando to take a seven-point lead with 4:44 remaining.

Steve Clifford proceeded to take D.J. Augustin out of the game with 1:53 remaining after Augustin played 14 consecutive minutes. The Magic changed at the point, running their offense through Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic. Both had been struggling through the whole game. The Magic took out their hot hand.

Another instance was in the 130-107 loss to the Houston Rockets. In hindsight, it probably would not have made a difference with the way James Harden was playing (54 points), but it took too long for Evan Fournier to get back onto the floor.

Fournier left the game where the Magic were down nine but waited until they were down 14 with Harden putting the finishing touches on the game where he would extend the lead to 17 after the timeout.

In a game that Fournier was playing well, he played in only 25 minutes. That is not enough. This should have been a game where he should have played more than his average (31 minutes).

Clifford has constantly taken out players who are in rhythm and are playing well to be able to keep up with his rotation, which breaks the momentum. That is a bad thing for a team that has its struggles on the offensive end.

This does not make sense for a coach who constantly has a nine-man rotation for players to have a chance to have a rhythm.

This has been a shortcoming all season long and will continue to be until there is a change in his mentality.

This problem leads to other questions about his rotations and if they could be the cause for the team’s offensive struggle.

Aaron Gordon is usually the first starter off the floor to be able to play with the second unit at the end of the first to mid-second quarter. However, cutting his minutes could be a reason for his early-season struggles on the offensive end. Entering Friday’s game, he is averaging 13.3 points per game on 41.6-percent shooting from the field and 30.0-percent shooting from three. All those numbers are floating with career lows.

Clifford needs to find a way to find a better way to stagger both units to set up Gordon for success. But these lineups are not working consistently. And certainly not getting the most from Gordon.

Clifford can have his preset rotations to follow a game plan but has to be willing to break away from those minutes if a player catches fire and is creating momentum for the team. Depending on what Clifford decides to do will affect the rest of the season and will likely continue to hurt the Magic when it counts.