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5 questions the Orlando Magic must answer in final quarter of the season

By Philip Rossman-Reich

The Orlando Magic are struggling to get their swagger back as the playoff race tightens. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The Orlando Magic are struggling to get their swagger back as the playoff race tightens. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic
Aaron Gordon helped lead the Orlando Magic’s charge in the second half as the team found its offensive footing. (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Is Aaron Gordon’s turn permanent or a flash in the pan?

All season long, the Orlando Magic have waited on Aaron Gordon.

They believed he was due to make a leap. What 24-year-old is not due to make a leap as he matures and finds his way in any profession. Let alone in the NBA.

Aaron Gordon had shown flashes of what his athleticism could be when he put all the skills together. He was already a solid defender. Coach Steve Clifford already put a lot of trust in him and that ability. It was about decisionmaking, fit and consistency.

That was the part that seemed to be missing throughout the early part of the year. His averages all dipped and his efficiency hit the tank.

For the season, he is averaging 14.4 points per game, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. All are down from last year. And Gordon is shooting a poor 30.9-percent from beyond the arc and 48.3-percent effective field goal percentage.

It has not been a good year for Gordon. Injuries have played a part in this story. Gordon has not been fully healthy for much of the season.

But things have started to look up. And Gordon has played at a stellar level.

In the seven games since the All-Star Break, Gordon is averaging 16.2 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game and 7.3 assists per game. He is shooting 52.1 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from deep. He has camped himself closer to the paint, establishing good mid-post position and attacking quickly to get to his spots.

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    • It is his playmaking however that has been truly revelatory. Orlando has started cutting more aggressively around him and he has looked to drive under control to find open teammates. Defenses are focusing more on stopping him and that has opened his game up more.

    If the Magic had a vision of Gordon and how to use his athleticism effectively. It felt like Gordon has put together a lot of the pieces that everyone expected him to do so. It just might have been 50 games into the season rather than at the start. Gordon is still young enough that some inconsistency is excused.

    This potential is what made him our third-quarter MVP. Or rather, this potential realized in a fairly brief burst during a rough part of the season.

    The question now is what Gordon does with this promise.

    Will he become a player who can block a dunk at the rim on one end and be an offensive playmaker on the other? Will he be someone who can produce on both ends on a nightly basis?

    These are the questions Gordon has always faced. The questions he has never been able to make clear for himself to take the next leap.

    This is at least another time where Gordon has put things together. The Magic certainly want to know if this is something permanent.