After guiding the franchise to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2012, Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford is looking forward to seeing if his guys are ready to take the next step.

Clifford says the Magic are a “very talented team that can accomplish some things” if they don't skip steps.

“It’s all about having that mentality of wanting to get to the next level,” Clifford told John Denton of Magic.com. “It always gets back to the same basic things – how you work every day and how committed we are to playing a (style) that can win. There’s so much that goes into that obviously, such as the shot-making and the creativity of players. But because the guys in this league are so good and so smart, your level of execution is so important. We’re going to have to be better at that and more consistent with that. That leads to winning more.

“I think we have a good work team and they’re committed. And I think they also understand that if everybody makes that necessary commitment, we are a very talented team that can accomplish some things.”

The Magic's core is headlined by Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, Jonathan Isaac, Mo Bamba, Terrence Ross and DJ Augustin.

Orlando lost to the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the 2019 playoffs in five games. In a wide-open Eastern Conference, the Magic should be able to make the postseason again.

This time, though, Steve Clifford is looking for the team to make a deep playoff run.