Aaron Gordon has been in the gym working on his game. He said his focus has been on expanding his post-game a sign he is embracing his versatility.
Aaron Gordon is a matchup nightmare. Or he wants to be.
He has been in a battle over his body since his career began. Labeled as a tweener — too big and not a good enough shooter to play the perimeter, but not big enough to play the post — Aaron Gordon has had to fight off concerns about his “best position” his entire career.
The Orlando Magic originally drafted him as an unmolded athlete they felt they could turn into a versatile defender. His offense was what was supposed to lag behind.
Now a few years later, the questions about Gordon’s position still remain. But Gordon is flipping the script.
He is trying to prove that a tweener forward is the ideal, able to punish slower forwards on the perimeter off the bounce while taking smaller forwards to the block.
Gordon’s greatest weapon defensively was always his versatility. Now with a more firm offensive understanding beneath him, it appears the next step for him is to create that versatility on both ends of the floor.
And that is where he has put in the most work over the years. Seemingly working outside-in to get to that level.
Gordon started that work by expanding his range and becoming a better 3-point shooter.
He is now working on the next part of his versatility. Having gotten comfort working off the dribble, he has realized he will ahve to take advantage of smaller defenders that switch onto him more.
It was a strategy the Magic turned to on several occasions last year to limited effect. That is where Gordon’s work has come. He is re-embracing his inner big man by spending a part of his offseason trying to refine his post-game:
"“I’ve gotten a lot better in the post,’’ Aaron Gordon told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com. “Earlier in my career I didn’t want to get pigeon-holed as someone who only plays on the block, and sometimes I would overthink (posting up). So, I lost a part of my game that I needed and something that we needed as a team.”"
Gordon certainly took the thought of playing more on the perimeter as a challenge. And while there is still work to do, he has played well in that role. But his post game needs a lot of work.
Working the post
Aaron Gordon’s post-game was a weakness throughout the season that the Magic could not exploit Gordon on switches when they came up.
It was hard to run plays for Gordon specifically into the post becuase he was still so inefficient despite a clear matchup and size advantage. It was just not a relaible play when it clearly should have been one.
Gordon is capable of doing so much, but he is still putting all the pieces together. The post is one area that seemed to be lagging, as he noted.
Last year, Gordon averaged 2.9 post-ups per game, the second-most on the team. But he shot only 40.4 percent on those shots and scored only 1.5 points per game on post-up opportunities. He scored only 0.89 points per possession on those post-up opportunities.
Nikola Vucevic is the only player to average more post-up touches and he put up 0.93 points per possession. It was not like he was that good either. LaMarcus Aldridge led the league scoring 1.04 points per 100 possessions.
Post-ups overall are not the most efficient way to score. So it is something teams should not overly rely on.
But for a player like Gordon, it can be an easy way to get the ball in good scoring position when he gets a matchup advantage. Too often he let smaller players get away with guarding him in the post with over-simplistic moves or his attempt to use only brute force.
It was something he did not take advantage enough of last year.
Losing his versatility advantage
Aaron Gordon’s greatest asset is his positional versatility. That is how the Orlando Magic unleashed him on opponents last year. He could switch onto any player and defend them well. This was always his greatest value.
That same versatility has taken some time to develop offensively.
He entered the league a poor shooter and has done work to become a better perimeter player. That is where he primarily touches the ball now. The forward position — both the small and power forward — requires players to work the perimeter effectively. Gordon has taken strides there.
But what makes Gordon special is that he has the size to take players to the post. If he sets a screen on a guard and defenses switch it, he should be able to duck into the post and find an advantage.
That is the advantage that he has failed to realize when it comes to his post game. His movements and footwork are rudimentary. His approach, it seems, has been to use his size alone to create space to shoot. And that has not delivere dthe desired effects.
You can see in this play against the Houston Rockets that Gordon simply tries to bully his way to the basket. There is no step-through or pivot to create space or get the defender — the very good P.J. Tucker — off balance. This is a straight, shoulder down bowl to the basket.
It looks clunky and overly physical. Gordon is good enough to be able to will the ball into the basket. But this is hardly a proposition that will work often. Especially against strong defenders.
It is also how Gordon ends up getting called for charges. He can be a bit wild on his drives in transition, but his overwillingness to use his physicality instead of his athleticism and footwork can get him into trouble.
This strategy was how a lot of his post-ups went. So even against smaller players that left him a bit exposed. He had that one move and defenses could bring a help defender and crowd him.
That is not going to work long term. Especially since he has the quickness to work around smaller defenders with his strength.
Defenses can sit on his moves because they know what is coming. And even smaller defenders can make his shots difficult.
Even with this make, it is easy to see how easy it is to defend him in the post.
He is going to try to back his man down all the way to the basket. And if he cannot do that, he will do his best to turn toward his left shoulder where he will fire up whatever wild shot he can at the basket.
Adding a fadeaway jumper or a counter move when defenses sit on his left shoulder or do not give up ground when he tries to get to the basket would be a huge boost to his game.
And if he tries this against a player who is a similar size to him? It is not going to work at all.
They simply just hold their ground and force Gordon into a difficult shot over the top of them. Even if Gordon establishes good position.
The issue in all three of these players is not Gordon’s positioning. He does a good job establishing deep post position in all three. That is a testament to his strength.
But when he gets the ball, he is rushing and does not look like he has a real plan to get the defense off balance. There are no counters other than to go into this pre-determined move.
Improved footwork would help him stay calm in these situations and give him the option to leverage better position, use his strength or pick up steam and attack the basket more off the dribble. He has to be able to keep the defense off balance.
Expanding back out
Aaron Gordon improving his footwork would help in a lot of other areas in his game too. It can branch out from there.
Better footwork will help him on drives and on defense as much as it will on offense. It would be an added dimension to this game that can teach him to create space in a number of situations.
Ultimately a lot of Gordon’s success still depends on that outside shot.
In 2018, it felt like Gordon made a huge leap when he shot 33.6 percent from beyond the arc. His 3-point shooting, especially early in that season, helped stake him a place as a budding young star and helped him reach 40 points twice.
But he was actually better as a 3-point shooter in 2019, staying more consistent through the course of the season. He made 34.9 percent of his 3-pointers last year.
It is still an area he has to improve but one that he is continuing to make progress on. And that has been the main focus of his offensive improvement.
A lot of Gordon’s offense still came from attacks outside the paint. Gordon was solid as a pull-up and spot-up shooter from beyond the arc. He was fourth on the team with 6.1 drives per game, according to Second Spectrum’s tracking data.
There is still a debate about what his position should be. Most would say he is a power forward. And that is informed from the failed small forward experiment the Magic put him through in 2016.
He was probably not ready or developed enough to play primarily on the perimeter at that time. Turning back to the “power forward” helped unlock his game as he could use his quickness to attack off the dribble.
For sure, Gordon needs to continue gaining confidence working off the dribble and with his outside shot. But focusing on his post-game will unlock that part.
If teams have to worry more about him diving to the post on screens, then they will lay off and he can attack more off the dribble. It is more space he has to operate.
And Gordon with space and a runway to take off is the most dangerous player he can be.
Gordon’s evolution
Aaron Gordon’s game has evolved a lot since that initial experiment with him at small forward. He became a better 3-point shooter and a much more consistent scorer off the dribble. That has made him a more consistent scorer and slasher.
Gordon is a viable weapon offensively in a way he was not back then.
Pairing him with Jonathan Isaac has kept some questions about whether the two can work together as forward. But it doubled down on the notion that Aaron Gordon can play both forward positions. The idea it seems is that both can play each position.
Gordon’s game continues to evolve too. Last year, he showed a better inclination to make plays off the dribble and his potential as a playmaker. That helped the Magic make the playoffs and helped grow his offensive game.
Gordon did not put up the gaudy numbers some hoped, but it was his best all-around season on that end. He still fell into some bad habits off the dribble. His lack of post-game also left some points and scoring opportunities on the board.
It was clear that without this part of his game, Gordon was not the full player he could be.
Offense is not Gordon’s natural skill. He is a defender first and foremost. Something maybe he forgot in the course of his development and rediscovered a bit last year.
That defensive versatility is what the Magic originally drafted.
Next, he has to find versatility offensively. He has grown his game on the perimeter and is now working to exploit the matchups he struggled to on the interior.