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Locked On NBA: Aaron Gordon pleasant surprise of early season

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Oct 14, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) drives to the basket as Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) defends during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Indiana Pacers 114-106. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 14, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) drives to the basket as Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) defends during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Indiana Pacers 114-106. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aaron Gordon has done some impressive things and shown signs of growth. An anonymous coach broke down Gordon on Locked On NBA.

The Orlando Magic invested much of their future in their young players. This plan to make the Playoffs this year and push their chips in also required their draft picks remaining would be ready to step up and contribute.

That path has not been easy.

Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton, entering their all-important third year, had to take a step forward. They had to move from raw, intriguing talents to surefire starters with defined NBA skills. Perhaps even Gordon had to begin showing signs he could be the team’s star.

The Magic’s 3-6 start and the overall struggles are a sign the team may not have been quite ready for the Playoff pressure and that Gordon and Elfrid Payton were not quite ready for that step forward.

Then again, the Magic are experimenting a bit with Gordon. After playing the majority of his minutes at the 4 last year, Gordon is playing almost exclusively at the 3 for the first time in his career. Basketball-Reference estimates Gordon has played 94 percent of his minutes at small forward this year.

That transition has not been easy for Gordon. He has struggled some learning how to attack off the dribble from the perimeter. But he has fit perfectly defensively.

There is at least one coach who agrees.

On Locked On NBA, host David Locke spoke to an anonymous NBA coach about some early season trends. And Aaron Gordon caught his eye:

"“His numbers aren’t gaudy yet. But some of the things he is doing, I think it has probably helped Orlando is Aaron Gordon. I am surprised he is shooting 40 percent from the 3-point line and taking three a game. He plays so hard. He has the chance to be really special.”"

This podcast was released about a week ago. So it was before this recent three-game losing streak. Gordon was averaging 11.0 points per game and shooting 38.9 percent from beyond the arc with 3.0 attempts per game.

During this recent three-game losing streak, Gordon averaged 10.3 points per game and shot 12.5 percent from beyond the arc. His 3-point shooting is still a work in progress, as is the rest of his game as a small forward.

It is perhaps for that reason, despite all the good things Gordon has done, he moved to the bench for Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz.

The move did seem to help him some. Especially since coach Frank Vogel paired him with Damjan Rudez, who is exclusively a stretch-4 and garners respect from opposing defenses.

And Gordon still has smothering defense at the position no matter if he is starting or coming off the bench. Entering Sunday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Gordon posted a 1.7 defensive box plus-minus according to Basketball-Reference and giving up 37.7 percent shooting to opponents this season.

Gordon’s experiment at the 3 is still very much a work in progress. It is still unclear whether he fits there perfectly.

Next: Win-now Orlando Magic abandoning youth as their base

So far, there are signs at least that make it look like it could work. But it is still a work in progress.