The Orlando Magic will welcome Aaron Gordon back to the active roster as they play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
Jacque Vaughn put Aaron Gordon through his paces Saturday in a one-on-one session. The Magic had the day off and so were not going to get the full five-on-five session that Vaughn said he wanted from Gordon before throwing him to the fire of a NBA game.
He saw enough in tbehat session though to activate the rookie for the first time since Nov. 15.
Aaron Gordon will don the gray Magic Pride uniform for the first time and will be active and on the bench for the Magic, although Jacque Vaughn said he was still unsure if Gordon would get in the game. For the Magic’s 19-year-old rookie, this is a long-awaited moment, although it is not quite like opening night.
“ feels good. I’m ready to play,” Gordon said before Sunday’s game. “I’m ready to contribute to my team. It’s still up to Jacque on how much I play. But when I do get in the game, I’m going to help my team any way that I can.”
“I’m ready to play. I’m ready to contribute to my team.” –Aaron Gordon
Before his injury, Gordon averaged 5.8 points per game and 3.0 rebounds per game in his 11 appearances. His impact went beyond a box score, however. He was already proving himself to be a skilled one-on-one defender. More importantly, he provided a really big boost of energy for the team.
Not to mention that now that the Magic play at such a break-neck, up-tempo speed that the game will likely fit his style of play better.
“I’ve been watching a lot of basketball and I’ve been watching a lot of our team,” Gordon said. “Seeing some of our deficiencies and seeing where we can get better as a whole. It kind of feels like I’m right back in the mix.”
How much back in the mix Gordon will be immediately is another question though. While Vaughn said Gordon will be active, he said not to expect to play Gordon for 30 minutes against Kevin Durant tonight. It is not even completely certain Gordon will play.
More from Orlando Magic Daily
- 2023 Orlando Magic Playoff Lessons: Philadelphia 76ers can’t seem to avoid conflict
- 5 worst starters of the Orlando Magic’s Shaquille O’Neal era
- Orlando Magic FIBA World Cup: Franz Wagner can be a star if he takes it
- Orlando Magic are going to find out who they are in 2024
- 2024 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Moe Wagner is the spark off of the bench
Whatever the case may be, Gordon’s activation says he is ready to play. His effectiveness will come with more experience. And the Magic will need him.
“I think we really missed him,” Vaughn said. “You take for instance a big impact in the Memphis game was the ability of Jeff Green to impact the game. That’s a matchup where if Aaron is healthy that we probably would have gone to. There have been other occasions throughout this eight weeks where he has been out that we would have gone to him as well.”
The Magic will have Sunday night’s game followed by two days for practice before heading on a quick two-game road trip in Detroit and New York. Assumedly, that will give Gordon the time to get his legs back under him and get into the intensity of a five-on-five NBA game.
Gordon will find his effectiveness in the meantime.
For Sunday night? Gordon is going to have to do what he can. And that will be more or less the same thing — provide energy and defense. The rest will have to come in time.
“There’s got to be rustiness,” Gordon said. “Nine weeks I have been out, I haven’t played five-on-five really. So to come back and play against OKC, I’m going to do the best I can. You can’t really know how rusty you are going to be until you are actually in the game.”