Steve Clifford was there the last time the Orlando Magic were a playoff contender.

He’s being asked to make them one again.

Clifford was announced Wednesday as the new coach of the Magic [url=http://www.arizonadiamondbacksteamshop.com/authentic-nick-ahmed-jersey]Nick Ahmed Jersey[/url] , a team that has missed the playoffs in each of the last six years. Clifford – who spent the last five seasons as coach of the Charlotte Hornets – was an assistant coach on Stan Van Gundy’s Magic staff for five years, including during the team’s most recent playoff run in 2012.

”I’ve had 18 great years in this league and I’ve enjoyed every year, but none more than the five years here,” Clifford said.

Magic president Jeff Weltman said the team used a ”deliberate approach” and took its time, but insisted that the franchise made the right hire.

”We are very excited to welcome Steve back into the Magic family,” Weltman said. ”Steve is widely regarded throughout the NBA community as an elite coach and developer of players at all stages. His teams have always been disciplined and prepared, and have embraced the concept of playing for each other.”

Clifford is replacing Frank Vogel, who was let go after two seasons. Clifford, who missed 21 games this past season while dealing with severe headaches brought on by sleep deprivation, was fired by Charlotte at the end of this season after going 196-214.

Hiring Clifford is easily the biggest move made so far by Weltman. He took over the club a year ago after the team fired Rob Hennigan and ended his five-year run that never got on solid footing.

Weltman made the decision after this season to part with Vogel [url=http://www.thetexansfootballauthentic.com/jordan-akins-jersey-authentic]Youth Jordan Akins Jersey[/url] , who was a proven winner in Indiana but simply didn’t have a playoff-caliber roster in Orlando.

Neither does Clifford, at this point anyway. It will take more than a coaching change to improve Orlando’s fortunes.

”The old saying in the NBA, and it’s so true, is you never know a player until you coach them,” Clifford said. ”I’m going to start to try and establish the right kind of relationships with these guys tomorrow, or tonight. I want to be able to impact each one of these guys in the right way.”

Clifford was ousted in Charlotte after a front-office shakeup. Owner Michael Jordan fired general manager Rich Cho and eventually hired Mitch Kupchak to replace him in April. Kupchak fired Clifford not long afterward.

The Hornets went to the playoffs twice in Clifford’s five seasons, never winning a series.

”The NBA isn’t about winning – the NBA is about winning in the playoffs,” Clifford said at the end of Charlotte’s season.

Clifford is coming to a franchise that has lost more games than any NBA club over the past six years, 335. That’s four more than Philadelphia, a franchise that was openly tanking for years before turning things around this season.

The Magic weren’t tanking. They’ve just been bad.

Orlando hasn’t had longer than a five-game winning streak at any time over the last six seasons. But over that same span [url=http://www.broncoscheapauthenticstore.com]Youth Denver Broncos Jerseys[/url] , the Magic have had 23 losing streaks of at least five games. On their way to a 25-57 record that left them 18 games out of a playoff spot, the Magic had two seven-game slides and two other nine-game skids.

Since Van Gundy left, the Magic have gone through a series of resets.

There have been 62 players in uniform over the last six seasons – none an All-Star while in Orlando – and now five coaches. Van Gundy was replaced by Jacque Vaughn, who was let go after 2 1/2 seasons and replaced on an interim basis by James Borrego. Scott Skiles then took over for one year, and Vogel ran things the last two seasons.

Weltman said Clifford is the one who can stop the revolving-door look to the coach’s office.

”I think it’s crucial,” Weltman said. ”Fifth coach in seven years, it’s very important that we start to establish our identity and be able to build on something that doesn’t get turned over every season.”

MINNEAPOLIS — Shin-Soo Choo will try to reach base for a 36th consecutive game Saturday when the Texas Rangers continue their three-game series with the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

The 35-year-old Rangers outfielder extended his streak to 35 games Friday night with a two-run homer against Fernando Romero.

His streak is the second longest in baseball this season, trailing only Philadelphia’s Odubel Herrera, who reached in 40 straight games. It’s the longest by a Rangers player since Mark Teixeira made it on base in 36 straight games in 2006.

Julio Franco holds the franchise record for a season with 46 straight games and Will Clark reached in 58 straight games at the end of the 1995 and start of 1996 seasons.

“I signed here to get on base, that’s why they brought me here [url=http://www.pantherscheapstore.com/dj-moore-jersey-cheap]DJ Moore Panthers Jersey[/url] ,” Choo said. “When I’ve been healthy, I’ve gotten on base.”

Choo has been on a tear the last month, slashing .306/.468/.556 in his last 30 games, leading to his name being mentioned more frequently in trade rumors as the Rangers remain stuck in the American League West cellar despite winning a season-high six straight games after opening their series in Minnesota with an 8-1 victory Friday night.

While he is open to joining a contender for a stretch run, he knows the $50 million-plus owed to him through the 2020 season could make that difficult.

“Probably (my) contract is still (an obstacle),” Choo admitted earlier this week. “It’s probably not easy. I’m not 28 or 30 anymore.”

The Rangers turn to Yovani Gallardo (0-0, 15.95 ERA) to keep their streak going Saturday. It will be the second start of the season for Gallardo, who was cut by Milwaukee at the end of spring training, then allowed eight runs in 2 1/3 innings of relief before he was cut by Cincinnati and eventually signed a minor league deal with the Rangers.

Gallardo posted a 3.81 ERA in 10 starts for Triple-A Round Rock and was called up to face Colorado last Sunday. He allowed five runs and six hits while striking out four in a no-decision.

“I thought Yo threw the ball well,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “It was similar to what we’ve seen in the past from Yo. He gave up a couple of soft hits [url=http://www.pantherscheapstore.com/donte-jackson-jersey-cheap]Donte Jackson Jersey Panthers[/url] , the walks are something not typical of Yo, but he managed the game and was able to give us some length.”

Gallardo is 4-2 with a 3.49 ERA in 11 career starts against Minnesota.

Jake Odorizzi (3-4, 3.48 ERA) starts Saturday for the Twins, who are looking to get back on track after losing two straight and scoring just three runs in those games combined.

Odorizzi is looking for a bounce-back outing himself after the Indians tagged him for four runs in five innings his last time out on Sunday.

He is 4-0 with 2.02 ERA in six career starts against the Rangers.

The Twins should get a bit of a boost Saturday as third baseman Eduardo Escobar is expected to return to the lineup. He sat out the series opener Friday after taking a pitch to an elbow a day earlier against the Boston Red Sox.

“I think probably a tad better than I expected,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “He’s sore and there’s some limitation because there’s still a lot of swelling there that impedes his ability probably to throw accurately, as well as take his normal swing. But I’m fairly optimistic that in another, roughly, a little less than 24 hours, that he might be able to start a game tomorrow.”