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Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford is ecstatic over his team making the playoffs on April 7.
Orlando Magic NBA.com writer John Denton tweeted Clifford's sentiments on Sunday.
.@OrlandoMagic coach Steve Clifford, who's likely vaulted himself into consideration for NBA Coach of the Year award w/ ORL winning 21 of 30 to get to POs:”Phenomenal locker room scene. The guys were ecstatic, deserving & it’s fun to see. I feel like we’ve done it the right way.”
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) April 8, 2019
Clifford added winning 21 of 30 games and enduring some tough stretches made the moment more memorable, per Denton.
More Clifford: “We’ve played our best in these last 30 games & we’ve made good progress all year. … To have the right care factor and to withstand some stretches that were difficult – & they stayed with it and kept getting better – it was obviously a big-time (accomplishment).”
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) April 8, 2019
The Magic beat the Boston Celtics on the road on April 7, 116-108. The victory secured a playoff spot for Orlando. The Magic haven't tasted playoff basketball since the 2011-12 NBA season.
The three-headed monster of Terrence Ross (26 points), Nikola Vucevic (25 points), and Evan Fournier (24 points) combined for 75 points for Orlando on Sunday.
After the game, Vucevic poured his heart out in a post-game interview with The Associated Press (via ESPN).
It's an amazing feeling. Nobody knows what I've been through in the last six years here, just through all the losing, the struggling, the doubting.
It's been very difficult for me at times. It paid off in a great way, man, just to come in here in this building and beat a great Celtics team and to make it.
Prior to the playoff-clinching win, the Magic “endured four different coaches, five seasons with 50-plus losses, and took many turns in the NBA draft lottery,” per The Associated Press report (via ESPN).
If the playoffs began today, the seventh-seeded Magic (41-40) will face the second-seeded Toronto Raptors (57-24).
Clifford is in his first year as Orlando Magic head coach. He previously coached the Charlotte Bobcats/Charlotte Hornets for five seasons, amassing an overall win-loss record of 196-214 (.478).
This is also Clifford's third time to coach in the NBA playoffs. If the Magic end up playing the Raptors in the first round, it will be a daunting task.
However, never count Clifford and Co. out. Anything can happen in the NBA.
