Orlando Magic Daily
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Aaron Gordon is a defensive 3, at least

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Jan 29, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) controls a ball as Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) tries to defend during the second quarter in a game at Air Canada Centre. The Orlando Magic won 114-113. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 29, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) controls a ball as Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) tries to defend during the second quarter in a game at Air Canada Centre. The Orlando Magic won 114-113. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic, Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Jan 13, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00)] defends Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) in the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports /

The Numbers

Aaron Gordon’s defensive reputation is growing. The Orlando Magic already put him on the best perimeter player in most games and he is a key part of the Magic’s defensive strategy.

Gordon is possibly the best perimeter defensive player on the team. He is giving up 41.2 percent on shots overall, the league average is 45.2 percent.

This is an imperfect measure of course. NBA.com Player Tracking cameras credit whoever defended a field goal attempt as the closest player to someone who takes a shot.

It does not always tell anyone exactly who had responsibility for whom defensively.

But there are some numbers that might suggest Gordon is not as strong defensively as the eye test would suggest.

According to Basketball-Reference, Gordon has a -0.4 defensive box plus minus. Meaning his contributions make the Magic 0.4 points per 100 possessions worse than i fhe were an average player. If this keeps up, it would be the first negative box plus-minus of his career. Past the midpoint of the season, he is on pace for fewer defensive win shares than he had last year.

Yet, observationally, Gordon has played strong defense. And perhaps unlike last year, he is consistently defending the best player on the opposing team. It was Gordon locking up James Harden, Andrew Wiggins, C.J. McCollum and Kevin Durant.

For a 21-year-old, that is very impressive. There is no reason to believe Gordon cannot get better. And his strength on defense is part of why the Magic felt comfortable moving him to the perimeter.