RealGM

There's been a lot of talk of Aaron Gordon on this board in recent weeks... So much that it's been taking over other threads. That's usually a cue that a separate thread is needed, so here it is.

I'll start with this lengthy video of the good things he's been doing out there:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0pcg4nt6HU[/youtube]

Noe: this is about 10 games worth, so not quite the entirety of his play this season.

He's been good this season

I just wish he could stop making the same traveling mistake, it annoys the sh*t out of me.

Best 1-on-1 defender in the league imo. Nobody seems to be able to consistently get the better of him. Would much prefer him in the lineup over Harris, but it can wait.

Skiles needs to put more on Gordon's plate.

He will be starting by the end of the season like Elf did last season. As long as he stays healthy, its bound to happen imo.

Skin wrote:Skiles needs to put more on Gordon's plate.

You are not magic fan

Last Guardian wrote:Best 1-on-1 defender in the league imo. Nobody seems to be able to consistently get the better of him. Would much prefer him in the lineup over Harris, but it can wait.

He is special on defense. His instincts plus athleticism are a rare combination. He will prob be all NBA defensive team at some point.

Aaron gordon:starting sf

Patrick1978 wrote:Aaron gordon:starting sf

He plays so much better at the 4... Defensively he's good all over the board, but offensively he's better at the 4...

JF5 wrote:

Patrick1978 wrote:Aaron gordon:starting sf

He plays so much better at the 4... Defensively he's good all over the board, but offensively he's better at the 4...

He's definitely good crashing the board on offense and scoring off that, but he's better when he's moving and cutting to the basket. He's got no footwork in the paint, just timing on his fakes and an ability to get up there when he sees daylight. He also developed a nice little turnaround jumper which he could dribble into, but we haven't seen that since the start of the season.

No reason he play both the perimeter and the paint.

Taking into account all the time Gordon has missed between the previous season and training camp in the summer, I'd say Skiles has given him a fair shake and is bringing him along nicely. He's got tremendous upside and will have plenty of time to work his way into the starting lineup.

Harris is holding the fort just fine in the meantime.

zelenooq wrote:

Skin wrote:Skiles needs to put more on Gordon's plate.

You are not magic fan

What does that even mean?

He's amazing on defense, so much so he could contend for an all defensive team with minutes. He's good on the break or any area where his athleticism can be used (like put backs and on the boards). But right now he is awful on offense. His drives end up in a turnover most of the time, his jumpers are not great. He still needs to slow down. Stop crashing into guys, but these things only come with time and minutes.

OrlDave wrote:He's amazing on defense, so much so he could contend for an all defensive team with minutes. He's good on the break or any area where his athleticism can be used (like put backs and on the boards). But right now he is awful on offense. His drives end up in a turnover most of the time, his jumpers are not great. He still needs to slow down. Stop crashing into guys, but these things only come with time and minutes.

That's Hezonja... 5 turnovers on just 12 drives (that's not including any travels or stepping out of bounds on the perimeter beforehand). Believe it or not, Gordon's got the 2nd lowest turnover percentage on drives. What happens on a lot of them is he draws a foul with his speed and hops. He's 2nd in free throw attempts on drives despite being 6th in number of drives. His biggest problem is before the drive even starts... he gets too eager and travels. Once he gets going he's producing for himself though. I'd like to see him drive and kick more since he has decent passing skills.

I wouldnt change anything were doing right now just to get AG on the floor.

OrlandO wrote:

OrlDave wrote:He's amazing on defense, so much so he could contend for an all defensive team with minutes. He's good on the break or any area where his athleticism can be used (like put backs and on the boards). But right now he is awful on offense. His drives end up in a turnover most of the time, his jumpers are not great. He still needs to slow down. Stop crashing into guys, but these things only come with time and minutes.

That's Hezonja... 5 turnovers on just 12 drives (that's not including any travels or stepping out of bounds on the perimeter beforehand). Believe it or not, Gordon's got the 2nd lowest turnover percentage on drives. What happens on a lot of them is he draws a foul with his speed and hops. He's 2nd in free throw attempts on drives despite being 6th in number of drives. His biggest problem is before the drive even starts... he gets too eager and travels. Once he gets going he's producing for himself though. I'd like to see him drive and kick more since he has decent passing skills.

Interesting. Yeah those charges look bad, but stats are stat. Who knew? Glad to see it's better than it appears however.

Gordon's mistakes are amplified way more than anyone else's because people are looking for reasons why he doesn't get minutes and opportunities. So as soon as he makes a mistake people think "Oh, that's why. See there you go people", overlooking that everybody else is also making just as many mistakes.

I really like AG, despite my negative posts in the game threads. My biggest gripes with him are on offense when he tries to take people off the dribble and when he shoots fadeaway/off balance shots. It seems like he put in a ton of work in on the off season, on both ends but especially offensively and he's trying too hard to showcase it.

MagicStarwipe wrote:Gordon's mistakes are amplified way more than anyone else's because people are looking for reasons why he doesn't get minutes and opportunities. So as soon as he makes a mistake people think "Oh, that's why. See there you go people", overlooking that everybody else is also making just as many mistakes.

Yeah you may be right. Certainly Vic does a lot of the same things. So does Elf. Honestly I can't see a solid reason AG isn't getting 25+ minutes a game.

I really like AG hes very good defensively isn't offense focused so hes a do everything for you type of player. A couple things I don't like on offense he has the Mo Harkless sit in the corner role which doesn't play to his strengths, I'd rather him get near the baseline to get easy drop offs when someone drives or offensive rebounds. Also he gets blocked to much seems to avoid contact and tries to out jump guys like he was able to in high school and college.