Aaron Gordon’s time at the small forward is proving valuable

Aaron Gordon arrived this season a different player. With a 3-point shot and a more confident game, Gordon is looking like the forward the Magic imagined.

A lot can change in a year.

A year ago this time, Aaron Gordon was embarking on a grand experiment from the Orlando Magic. One that was ultimately doomed.

The Magic loaded up their frontcourt in an attempt to force some defense onto the team and moved Gordon to the perimeter.

New coach Frank Vogel talked about using Aaron Gordon like he had used Paul George with the Indiana Pacers. At the least, it seemed the Magic believed they could build a wall defensively and hope the offense would work. They loved the potential of the trio.

The chemistry, the fit, the everything did not work.

Gordon struggled at small forward — averaging a lowly 11.2 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 42.8 percent from the floor and 29.2 percent from beyond the arc before the All-Star Break. Teams did not respect the Magic’s shooting anyway, and Gordon made things worse. He just could not work from the perimeter. Most of his success still came in transition and around the basket.

The Magic seemingly went out of their way to keep Gordon on the perimeter and the space around him was constricted.

Gordon was the good soldier. He said at all times he was merely a “forward” and would do whatever the coaching staff wanted him to do. He wanted to be the playmaker breaking players off the dribble, and that was not where he was at in his career.

His move to power forward was very clearly a boon for him.

After the All-Star Break, Gordon averaged 16.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, shooting 50.3 percent from the floor. Working closer to the basket and getting out in transition more in the fast-paced offense the Magic suddenly employed seemed to click with his skills.

Gordon went from a player who seemed like he was never going to arrive to a player who showed promise entering the final year of his contract. HIs future with the Magic and in the league would ride on the 2017 season.

His start to the year? Gordon completely transformed his play. And in many ways looked like the player the Magic wanted last year — albeit now, more comfortably, at power forward.

Gordon is averaging 17.5 points per game and shooting 51.6 percent from the floor. He is hitting on 43.8 percent of his 3-pointers. All while shooting a career-high 4.9 3-point attempts per game.

Amazingly, Gordon has hit two game-winning 3-pointers already this year. His jump shooting and 3-point shooting has transformed his game. Gordon is one of the key pieces to the Magic’s offense, helping spread the floor and serving as a dangerous cutter defenses have to respect.

Everyone expected Gordon to take a leap with his 3-point shooting, but not like this. If anything, the complaint now is trying to find a way to get Gordon more touches and more possessions. Everything with Gordon is trending up.

It seems counterintuitive, but some credit has to go toward his time at small forward last season. His success did not come out of nowhere. And the experience playing some small forward last year inevitably made him more comfortable on the perimeter when he eventually switched back to his natural power forward position.

This year he has 1.3 isolation possessions per game with 0.85 points per possession. Last year, he had just 0.9 isolation possessions per game. This year, he averages 5.1 drives per game, scoring 2.4 points per game on these drives. He had 2.6 drives per game last year, scoring 1.9 points per game on drives.

Gordon is still not an effective perimeter player. His most effective play is still getting out in transition — 1.00 points per possession on 3.2 transition possessions per game. Gordon is far from a complete player.

But it is hard not to see the dynamic transformation in his game.

Gordon is more comfortable attacking from the perimeter. His time last year at small forward had at least some benefit.

Last year, Gordon noted footwork was important to playing small forward. He got robbed of developing some of that with his ankle injury early in the year. The whole experiment was a disaster on many levels.

To be clear, Gordon is a power forward. He can use his speed and athleticism far more effectively against power forwards than small forwards.

Last year, Gordon was the good soldier willing to do whatever his team asked of him. But he previewed what he could become thanks to that instruction.

"“I would say [I’m scratching the surface],” Gordon said late last season. “It was basically glimpses and flashes throughout the year. It was not consistent enough for me. With footwork, I think I will be much more consistent.”"

Undoubtedly, Gordon has developed some of those skills. And it still feels like he is only scratching the surface. It feels like he can do more. And the Magic may need more from him.

As many have noted, Gordon changed his shooting form to some degree. Cleaning up his mechanics and improving his shooting balance — an issue of footwork — have helped him make 3-pointers more effectively. And that has opened up his game.

The difference is clear to see from the tape:

This is not a rehash of Gordon’s position. He is a power forward. His effectiveness is clear there. He is not a strong perimeter player, even though he is spending most of his time on the perimeter still as a quasi-stretch-4. It is easy to get frustrated with his isolation play as he struggles to get all the way to the lane in half-court situations.

Gordon has been more effective with the shots he has gotten. And he is still most effective driving and slashing to the basket. That is what makes him unique among power forwards. Adding a 3-point shot has only added to the space he can create through his cutting.

Gordon took 158 of his 304 field goal attempts (52.0 percent) at the rim last year according to NBA.com. This year he has taken 56 of 208 at the rim (26.9 percent). The 3-pointer has truly changed his shot distribution. So long as he is making them he will be effective.

Getting to the basket is key for Gordon. That is still where he is most efficient and effective for the Magic.

But he will also have to remember the lessons of playing small forward to break players down off the dribble. It is clearly still a weakness for him. And ultimately why his run at small forward failed.

Next: Orlando Magic refocusing on defensive rhythm

Gordon has taken some of those skills and developed them out this summer and into this season. It made him a better player, even if it was not an ideal fit in the end.