Orlando Magic shift their Aaron Gordon strategy to get him going

The Orlando Magic have struggled to use Aaron Gordon effectively as they reconfigure their small forward experiment. Friday they found something that worked.

Aaron Gordon got free from the wing early in Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. He lined up his shot and took it. That has not always been the most comfortable thing for the Orlando Magic of late.

That has not always been the most comfortable thing for the Magic of late. Gordon has struggled with his shot mightily throughout the season. His transition to the 3 has been rough at best. He had just come off missing 17 shots in a row spanning three games, including an 0-for-12 performance Sunday against the Phoenix Suns.

Gordon needed to see the ball go in once to get some confidence in his spot-up game. And then, maybe then, the Magic could see everything Gordon could do. And he can still do a lot. Much of it still needs to be nurtured and kept under wraps.

The pick and rolls and isolation plays are not Gordon’s forte. Not at this point.

And like so many other things, Frank Vogel has had to try what he thought might work and then adjust and move on. And like so many other things with the Magic, slowly the team is figuring out how to make these mismatched pieces fit.

Most of all, Aaron Gordon.

Gordon hit that first shot. He then missed another jumper. But the Magic kept going to him. And not in isolation or attacking off the dribble. They put him in better positions to score. He was not the 4, but he played more like he did in previous years.

Gordon would not miss much again. And he would get his shots in ways he was not normally getting.

The Magic’s offense awoke in Philadelphia during a 104-88 victory. And nothing symbolized the change that got the Magic over 100 for just the fifth time in 20 games and the first time since the Nov. 13 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder more than the way Gordon got his shots.

Gordon finished with 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting, making two of his four 3-point attempts. That was a far cry from how he has gotten his offense this season.

Gordon is averaging 9.9 points per game while shooting 40.7 percent from the floor. His game Friday got him above the 40-percent dividing line for the season. He has needed a couple more hot-shooting nights like this.

But his shot distribution was vastly different Friday than it was throughout the rest of his season.

The majority of his field goals makes were assisted, meaning he was working more as a spot-up threat when he did take his jumper. He found a way to get himself into rhythm more effectively off the dribble by taking fewer dribbles to initiate his shot. He attacked rotations rather than a set defense.

The Magic actually posted him up on occasion — he has just 1.6 post touches per game where he scores 1.5 points per game on 80-percent shooting.

Gordon still settled for fadeaway jumpers. But feeling confident and with a smaller player guarding him, he made those shots. They felt more comfortable for him than attacking off the dribble from the perimeter and further away.

He also got his cutting and breaking game going. A quarter of his points were scored in transition. He attacked the offensive glass to be around for putbacks. He cut into open space and worked off the ball to create opportunities for shots.

Gordon has become somewhat emblematic of the issues the Magic face with this roster. The Magic needed to get a lot more out of Gordon. He has shown more comfort shooting, but not necessarily the greatest efficiency at them.

The Magic wanted to expand his role before he was ready to unveil that on the league. They moved him to the bench in hopes of finding him more space.

The realization for his success may very well be to reduce his role within the offense some. Or to put him in positions to score and attack where he is most comfortable.

Vogel said after Friday’s game the Magic tried to get him involved early with some different kind of looks. It paid off in the end. At least this game.

This is something the Magic have had to do with several players. Serge Ibaka needed some tie to discover his fit within the offense. Nikola Vucevic too. Evan Fournier‘s role has shifted some. The lineups have changed to try to find the best balance for the team.

It still feels like the earth is shifting some for the Magic even past the quarter pole of the season. Orlando is 8-12 and still experimenting.

Gordon is still at the center of this experiment. Figuring out how to get him going is still important to the team. His 20-point outing was his season high.

That does not necessarily correlate to winning — nothing has offensively for the Magic  — but getting Gordon going as a threat from the perimeter and someone defenses cannot ignore as a cutter or as a post-up threat is important for the Magic’s success in the end.

Gordon’s development remains important for the team and its eventual success — particularly for what he can do defensively.

The Magic seemed willing to try a different way to get him involved. Orlando has generally been willing to change some things within their offense as they try to reconfigure roles to make this group work.

The Magic figured something out important with Gordon at least for one Friday night. Setting him up closer to the basket helps him succeed and puts him in better position to score. And that gets him more engaged to work off the ball.

Next: Grades: Orlando Magic 104, Philadelphia 76ers 88

And a better Aaron Gordon makes a better Orlando Magic.