ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford has experience watching his teams from afar.
While coaching in Charlotte, N.C., during the 2017-18 season, he missed 21 games due to severe headaches brought on by sleep deprivation.
So when Clifford missed the Magic’s past six games while in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, he had a pretty good idea of how to approach it.
But unlike his time in Charlotte, Clifford was able to work this time around. He’ll hit the ground running Wednesday night when he returns to coach the Magic against the Boston Celtics at Amway Center.
“As you guys know, I’m a veteran [at this] because I had the year in Charlotte where I was unable to coach for a quarter of the season — in meaningful games — so that was super difficult,” he said Wednesday in his first Zoom media session since April 24. “In this one, I talked to all the coaches every day. I communicated with the players. I knew it was a short time period. And it wasn’t ideal, but you watch the film, you make notes, I still worked at home every day and you just do what you can.”
The Magic went 3-3 in their six games without Clifford, whose coaching record will reflect those wins and losses. He credited his coaching staff — Tyrone Corbin served as the head coach — for its work and the players for continuing to pursue progress.
Magic guard Chasson Randle said it’s good to have Clifford back.
“Just the energy that he brings to our team, the leadership that he brings — it was just great to hear his voice back with us in person,” Randle said. “We missed him.”
In terms of his own recovery, Clifford closely monitored his blood oxidation levels but said he remained asymptomatic during his infection. Clifford received the second dose of the Moderna vaccine the same day as his initial positive test and said being vaccinated likely played a role in his “uneventful” bout with COVID-19.
“I feel great,” he said. “From what I’ve been told, because I’ve been vaccinated, I really had no discomfort. I didn’t have any symptoms at all, so it was very uneventful, thankfully, and again, from what I’ve been told, the biggest part is I’ve been vaccinated so my body was ready.”
