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Orlando Magic: 3 keys to their solid start to season

By Luke Duffy

ORLANDO, FL - DECEMBER 23: Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford speaks with players during a timeout at Amway Center on December 23, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - DECEMBER 23: Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford speaks with players during a timeout at Amway Center on December 23, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images) /
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Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images) /

3. Continuity

It is boring to mention. It has been brought up before. But the simple fact is that the Magic have a head coach in Steve Clifford and a core that are into their third year together. In the case of Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier, it has been nearly double that time as the best players on this roster.

So although the Magic don’t have a ton of high-level star talent (with the exception of Vucevic), what they do have is a group of guys who know how to play together, and know what each other’s strengths and weaknesses are. Again, this is not flashy stuff. But this cohesiveness and continuity allow for the group to be better than the sum of their parts.

Related Story. Magic: Starting lineup: Locks, fringe, & break-ins. light

So far this season that has been especially true offensively. Coach Clifford has built the offense around center Vucevic, at a time when it is a guard dominated league. The rebirth of the big man may currently be taking place, but it is hard to get consistent offense and scoring around a guy who does a lot of his best work in the post and around the paint.

Vucevic is capable of shooting it from deep as well though, with a big 3-pointer critical in their win over the Wizards. With all of the offensive talent in the league, the Magic are at best league average in offensive rating. Two games is a tiny sample size, but to currently rank ninth in this category (111) is as a direct result of the continuity in place.

This roster is set up to be better defensively, and coach Clifford will always strive for that to be the case, with the continuity also going to have a positive impact on that end too. Players all know where they are supposed to be, playing in a scheme that doesn’t look to have changed much from last year.

With the exception of rookie Cole Anthony, Chuma Okeke (who missed his rookie season through injury) and Dwayne Bacon (who played with coach Clifford for the Charlotte Hornets and so knows him already), everybody else who is a key part of the rotation knows where they are supposed to be and why. Two games in, it has helped the Magic to look coherent while winning games.

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