Aaron Gordon Showing Signs of Vast Improvement

Aaron Gordon‘s 22-point, 18-rebound performance in Day 1 of the Orlando Summer League left a lot of reasons to be excited about his prospects.

Aaron Gordon often struggled last year, alternating between great plays and puzzling sequences in which he faded or made serious blunders. On the first day of the Orlando Summer league, there was a lot less of that.

Gordon hit his first four shots from the field, including two 3-pointers and a heavily contested jumper over two defenders on the baseline. He appeared to let the game come to him more, and he commented the game is slowing down for him and that is something he has learned from great players.

“It’s a long game,” Gordon said. “I’m still working on slowing down the game throughout the entire game. I think that’s what the great players do. Throughout the entire game, they slow it down. I still need to work on that. For the most part, I was seeing the plays develop and just playing my game.”

The hope is that Gordon becomes one of those great players. His jumper looked smooth and fluid, and the only times he really looked like the rookie he was last year was when he put the ball on the floor to dribble into traffic. He will realize his own limitations as time comes, and he did a good job of sizing up the defense in Saturday’s game before making his move.

At times, Gordon seems to rely on handles that are not quite as good as he thinks they are, but he will come to realize that NBA defenses are not necessarily as porous as those he faced in the NCAA. He did not receive enough time on the court last year to really get a feel for the level of competition.

It was easy to tell Gordon felt he was one of the best players on the court. He was more aggressive than last year during the regular season, and he was loose before the game, even throwing a lob pass to himself off the wall behind the goal that culminated in a 180-degree hard throw down.

At that point, it became obvious Gordon was there to put on a show.

And he did. He finished the first quarter with 13 points and eight boards, on his way to what became an 18-rebound game as he hit 8 of 18 from the floor for 22 points. When he made his mind up to get a rebound, he did not let a box out stop him.

And when he was in transition, he finished strong.

Gordon also finished one of the most impressive plays of the game, a lob pass that resulted from a chaotic sequence that had Elfrid Payton leading the break by throwing it ahead after recovering from a spill.

It was that kind of game for Gordon and the Magic, who edged the L.A. Clippers squad by one point in overtime, taking the game on a Mario Hezonja three-pointer.

Gordon was impressed to say the least with Hezonja. He commented, “I met a shooter, his name is Mario. He’s been a pro since he was like 11.”

The Magic may be seeing a lot of Hezonja and Gordon together this year if both continue to develop as they have thus far — through just one game. Gordon will see time playing both the 3 and 4 spot, and his versatility will enable the Magic to play a lot of small ball this year, which may be the new wave of the NBA.

Recently re-signed Tobias Harris, too, is capable of playing both forward spots, which will give Scott Skiles the versatility to employ plastic rotations capable of matching up with quicker teams.

The best sign is that Gordon is genuinely enjoying himself.

“It’s fun. That’s all it is,” Gordon said. “I’m enjoying playing basketball and enjoying playing with the guys I played with last year and Mario and Tyler. I’m just enjoying it. I’m showing what I can do and continuing to improve.”

And we had an idea of what Gordon could do, but it seems his comfort level may be high enough to show it in longer, more consistent stretches. Last year, he had the flashes that showed why Rob Hennigan felt confident enough to draft him No. 4 overall in 2014, but his rookie blunders were equally as glaring.

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Gordon is loose in summer league, and he has to transfer that to the regular season. He needs to realize he is often the best athlete on the court and use that edge to get the kind of shots he did in Saturday’s game. The jumper will be there a lot, because teams have to respect his ability to make one or two power dribbles to the goal to go up in traffic.

It may be his jumper that is his most underrated facet of his game, as it was even billed as a weakness coming out of Arizona. There never really seemed to be much to support that notion though. His mechanics are fluid and sound. He has a good release, good rotation and he finds the bottom of the net sometimes even on more difficult looks as seen in the videos here.

Gordon seems to be arriving right on time, and he may be just what the Magic need from a power forward. It is far too early to project Gordon as a full-time starter, but that was exactly what he looked like in Saturday’s Summer League opener.

Next: Zach's Aaron Gordon 2014-15 Player Evaluation