ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Orlando Magic will open training camp Tuesday with an expectation they haven't had in many years — to win.After making the NBA playoffs for the first time in seven years, the Magic brought back every rotation player including Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ros after both signed four-year contracts this summer to stay in Orlando after becoming free agents."If you look at all the teams in the past that brought back the same teams, like the Spurs, they always win," said guard D.J. Augustin. "They keep the same culture and the same chemistry. It's going to be great for our team. If we start how we finished last year, we can do amazing things this year."Under first-year coach Steve Clifford, the Magic won 22 of their last 31 regular-season games to finish 42-40, then lost in five games to the eventual champion Toronto Raptors."Just to get a taste of the playoffs was a great feeling," said forward Aaron Gordon. "We put together a great stretch after the All-Star break, and... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Orlando Magic were supposed to have gotten a day off on Jan. 30. Instead, an incensed coach Steve Clifford brought his team in to watch film and make them see all the mistakes they made the night before in a loss to Oklahoma City.Plenty of teams would have grumbled about such a move.In this case, it paid off.Clifford showed them the error of their ways, and their ways changed. They took some days off over the next 3 1/2 months, sure — but they didn't take any more games off. A team that was 20-31 after that Thunder loss wound up going 22-9 down the stretch, earned its first playoff berth in seven years and set the tone for what Clifford is going to expect from the outset of next season."As the season went on, we played better and better and toward the end of the year we played some of our best basketball," Magic center Nikola Vucevic said. "We were just very well organized and it comes from the culture that coach Clifford installed, put in for us. As the season... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Orlando Magic reserve center Mo Bamba will be out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his left leg.The team made the announcement in a news release before the Magic were set to play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. Bamba also missed Saturday's game against the Brooklyn Nets.Bamba, a rookie from Texas, is averaging 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.36 blocks per game. The team said the injury was caught early, so he will be treated without surgery. His return will depend on how he responds to rest, non-operative treatment and rehabilitation.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Orlando Magic reserve center Mo Bamba will be out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his left leg.The team made the announcement in a news release before the Magic were set to play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. Bamba also missed Friday's game against the Brooklyn Nets.Bamba, a rookie from Texas, is averaging 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.36 blocks per game. The team said the injury was caught early, so he will be treated without surgery. His return will depend on how he responds to rest, non-operative treatment and rehabilitation.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — First-year Magic coach Steve Clifford is aware that the most consistent them about his new NBA team over the last few years has been losing.Consider this: Four head coaches and dozens of players have come and gone since Nikola Vucevic arrived in Orlando six years ago in a four-team trade.The 7-foot center has been one of the positive constants, averaging 15.6 points and 10.5 rebounds in 405 games with the Magic. But Vucevic has never been in a playoff game, and this season could be his final shot in Orlando."Trade rumors have been part of my last three years and I've kind of grown used to it," Vucevic said. "I know it's the last year (of his contract) but I also don't focus on that. If you focus on things you can't control, it doesn't really work out for you."Vucevic prefers to focus on the young help he will have this season in the frontcourt.Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba, the Magic's first-round picks in the last two drafts, are the centerpieces of the team's new... [More]