Aaron Gordon was one of the Orlando Magic’s most consistent players last year. It is clear he has another level and the team needs him to reach it.
The Orlando Magic learned very quickly that the playoffs are a different animal.
The moment and the games come with more pressure and attention. The details become more important and the little things are everything.
The most important lesson perhaps was that star players have to and are going to step up and beat even their best efforts. That even if a player does well, there is always more they could do.
Aaron Gordon had the unenviable task of guarding Kawhi Leonard in the playoffs. Kawhi Leonard was about to start a tour de force through the playoffs and Aaron Gordon was stuck in the middle of it.
He certainly did his best. He held Leonard to his lowest scoring output in any series of the playoffs. But that was still 27.8 points per game and a 63.3 percent effective field goal percentage. It was hard to call Gordon’s defense effective even if he did about all he could.
Even learning that he had to do more defensively — especially if he still had designs on winning Defensive Player of the Year or making an All-Defensive team in the future — was valuable. Gordon said early on in the series he was learning he had to fight for position better. There was no more going through the motions.
For a 23-year-old player (Monday, Sept. 16 is Gordon’s 24th birthday) who was still figuring out exactly what his potential was in the NBA and what his ideal role in the league might be, these are important lessons. These are vital lessons for Gordon.
Each year for Gordon has seemingly been adding a piece to the puzzle.
His first two years, he fought through injury and went through the NBA experience for the first time. His third year, he got shoehorned into a role he was not prepared for on the perimeter as he continued trying to expand his game beyond his athleticism.
Finally, in his fourth and fifth seasons, he started figuring out the true contours of his game. Expanding his confidence offensively and finding out what he had to do to help his team win on both ends.
Having a stable coach in Steve Clifford helped unlock new parts of his game. Clifford got through to him to play a style that seemed to accentuate his talents and begin to cover up his flaws. Gordon himself seemed to mature in his game as he understood how best he can help his team win.
Even though Gordon’s scoring dropped from 17.6 to 16.0 points per game, he improved his game in almost every way. He was a more efficient and effective scorer and a better defender and playmaker. By the end of the season, Clifford probably trusted no player more than Gordon.
It was a strong season for Gordon even as national media types devised ways to move him out of Orlando claiming he was held back in some way.
They may not be watching the Magic enough to know how Gordon was really effective, but there is something in there. Gordon has to take all these lessons learned and take another step in his game.
Orlando is relying on the internal development of their young players to take another step. And Gordon is in the crosshairs for that next step.
The 2020 season might be the year Gordon stops being a player for potential and starts becoming a player for now.