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Aaron Gordon’s season may be done with concussion

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Apr 6, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) drives around Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (34) during the second half of a basketball game at Amway Center. The Pistons won 108-104. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) drives around Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (34) during the second half of a basketball game at Amway Center. The Pistons won 108-104. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aaron Gordon will miss Friday’s game with a concussion, according to the Orlando Sentinel. With so little time, it could mean Gordon’s season is finished.

Aaron Gordon suffered a concussion and is out for Friday’s game against the Miami Heat and could be done for the season considering how little time is remaining this year.

Gordon was hit in the second quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons but did not appear to show any kind of concussion symptom or infirmity after the game. He spoke to the media and did not appear to have any symptoms or act unusually in any way.

He finished Wednesday’s game, scoring six points on 3-for-10 shooting. That included missing a wide-open three that would have tied the game with about two minutes left.

“I’m not saying we should have won,” Gordon said after the game. “I would rather say we won tonight for these reasons. Instead we lost for a number of reasons.”

It is still unclear when he suffered the concussion. Symptoms could have come on after the game ended or he could have suffered the injury during practice Thursday.

In any case Gordon is certainly out for Friday’s game and will have to go through the NBA concussion protocols before getting cleared to play.

As noted when Victor Oladipo suffered a concussion in November, the NBA requires players to go through increasingly more difficult levels of strenuous activity without showing concussion symptoms before being cleared for the next level and eventually cleared to play.

With only four games to play and less than a week, it seems somewhat unlikely for Gordon to clear all the protocols and play another game before the season ends.

It is an unfortunate way for his season to end. The hope would be he can recover quickly and the concussion will not interrupt his offseason training.

If this is Gordon’s swan song for the 2016 season, he had a very memorable one that is for sure.

Gordon established himself as a promising young player and put himself firmly in the Magic’s starting lineup after his injury-riddled rookie year. Once he got his footing in the NBA this year he began to blossom tremendously.

Gordon averaged 9.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, posting a 50.8 percent effective field goal percentage and starting 37 games. Gordon became one of the team’s best overall defenders. And he showed improvement in just about every area as the season went on. A healthy summer is crucial for his development as he continues to find his fit in the NBA.

And, of course, Gordon’s season was accentuated by his performance in the Slam Dunk Contest. That very well could be the highlight of the Magic’s entire season.

Gordon may not be a franchise player quite yet, but the No. 4 pick from the 2014 Draft began making good on his potential. And there is still so much to go with him.

This is an unfortunate injury at the end of the season for Gordon. It would be an unfortunate way for his season to end if it is how it ends. But Gordon had a good year and it should set the table for another strong season in 2017.