For now, at least Magic are having fun

There has been a common refrain this preseason among Orlando Magic players and head coach Steve Clifford discussing the team’s identity.

The Magic have a lot of new pieces this season, and the team has naturally focused on forging unity. It’s been brought on mostly by what Clifford has preached to the young Magic team in his first year in Orlando and sixth overall season as an NBA head coach.

That philosophy has also been helped by the presence of rookie center Mohamed Bamba and several other new players on the roster in Orlando this year, as well as the way veterans Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier have accepted the challenge of bringing this team together.

Magic players often discuss working to make each other better through teamwork and chemistry. They genuinely seem to feel good about their teammates when they succeed. Clifford will be looking for more of that Monday night at Miami when the Magic take on the Heat in their third preseason game.

“I think we’re playing unselfishly,” Clifford said after the Magic’s practice Sunday.

It’s fun again in Orlando, at least for now, with everyone happy and joking around. Even Clifford gets involved. When asked at media day if the team has bought into his philosophies, Clifford joked about veteran Nikola Vucevic.

“Except for Vooch, the other 14 guys … he and I are not getting along because of this soccer conflict,” said soccer aficionado and Manchester United fan Clifford, chiding Vucevic, who was within earshot. “Except for that, they’ve been great.”

Fun did not used to be the theme in Orlando, where the Magic have fumbled through six consecutive seasons of sub-.500 basketball. Indiana Pacers guard