Why is Aaron Gordon buried on the bench?

[Supreme]

I admit, I've gotten pretty annoyed that Mario and AG don't get the same opportunities on offense that others do....but I am starting to come around to the idea of bringing them along slowly. When you really look at the numbers, they're doing pretty damn well all things considered and I don't think it's a coincidence or in spite of the coaching staff. Other than Vuc (and maybe Dipo's defensive potential), it's becoming increasingly obvious that these two guys are the only other guys on the squad that possess at least one ELITE level skill. It might seem like conventional wisdom to just give them a green light but there may be merits to how the coaching staff is handling their development thus far.

And quite honestly, I think a guy like Oladipo (who was given full reign when he got to ORL) is still overcoming a lot of bad habits he developed while just being let loose every night no matter what he did on the court the previous night.

I think the coaching staff is trying to really hone in on Mario and AG to minimize the development of bad habits. Yes, Mario is averaging 13.5 minutes per game but he's already LIGHT YEARS ahead from the beginning of the year defensively and in his comfort level within the offense in those limited minutes. If you would have stuck Mario on the 76ers and given him 25-30mpg from the get-go, I don't think he would be half the defensive player he is today.

Remember, he only played 15mpg last season in Europe. Yes, we'd all like at least a few plays run for him off of screens but I think that will come this season in time. He's toned down the negative body language every time something doesn't go his way (was a real problem at the beginning of the season, imo) and he's done a really great job of fighting and accepting more challenges defensively. The last OMG-Mario-did-dis-dude-just-did-dis defensive lapse I can remember was the Brooklyn game (the one before this week's) where he stood on Bojan Bogdanovic's right hip with his hands up and let him drive in uncontested for a dunk.

If Mario develops a mid-range game and keeps improving his handle, he's going to be UNGUARDABLE.

AG is quietly becoming one of our most efficient players as of late. Where we as fans see his limited minutes as a negative, AG has been making the most of his opportunities and has continued to play within the system. If he keeps this going, he'll be starting by the All-Star break. He's been playing ~25mpg for the last 7 games or so...his opportunities within the offense will come...we just need to chill. I know it's hard, but we'll get there.

[jgosche]

I admit, I've gotten pretty annoyed that Mario and AG don't get the same opportunities on offense that others do....but I am starting to come around to the idea of bringing them along slowly. When you really look at the numbers, they're doing pretty damn well all things considered and I don't think it's a coincidence or in spite of the coaching staff. Other than Vuc (and maybe Dipo's defensive potential), it's becoming increasingly obvious that these two guys are the only other guys on the squad that possess at least one ELITE level skill. It might seem like conventional wisdom to just give them a green light but there may be merits to how the coaching staff is handling their development thus far.

And quite honestly, I think a guy like Oladipo (who was given full reign when he got to ORL) is still overcoming a lot of bad habits he developed while just being let loose every night no matter what he did on the court the previous night.

I think the coaching staff is trying to really hone in on Mario and AG to minimize the development of bad habits. Yes, Mario is averaging 13.5 minutes per game but he's already LIGHT YEARS ahead from the beginning of the year defensively and in his comfort level within the offense in those limited minutes. If you would have stuck Mario on the 76ers and given him 25-30mpg from the get-go, I don't think he would be half the defensive player he is today.

Remember, he only played 15mpg last season in Europe. Yes, we'd all like at least a few plays run for him off of screens but I think that will come this season in time. He's toned down the negative body language every time something doesn't go his way (was a real problem at the beginning of the season, imo) and he's done a really great job of fighting and accepting more challenges defensively. The last OMG-Mario-did-dis-dude-just-did-dis defensive lapse I can remember was the Brooklyn game (the one before this week's) where he stood on Bojan Bogdanovic's right hip with his hands up and let him drive in uncontested for a dunk.

If Mario develops a mid-range game and keeps improving his handle, he's going to be UNGUARDABLE.

AG is quietly becoming one of our most efficient players as of late. Where we as fans see his limited minutes as a negative, AG has been making the most of his opportunities and has continued to play within the system. If he keeps this going, he'll be starting by the All-Star break. He's been playing ~25mpg for the last 7 games or so...his opportunities within the offense will come...we just need to chill. I know it's hard, but we'll get there.

Great post, I agree.

I think some of us want to see results from Gordon and Hezonja immediately, which is totally fair but awards, stat lines, and bragging rights are irrelevant in terms of how they will pan out. Yeah it's annoying when a casual fan says the Magic should've picked Randle over Gordon because they don't look at context, but I don't buy into the theory that a guy's development is hindered unless he gets a ton of playing time as a rookie/sophomore. Getting rid of the bad habits is the main focus for now.

[Skin]

I admit, I've gotten pretty annoyed that Mario and AG don't get the same opportunities on offense that others do....but I am starting to come around to the idea of bringing them along slowly. When you really look at the numbers, they're doing pretty damn well all things considered and I don't think it's a coincidence or in spite of the coaching staff. Other than Vuc (and maybe Dipo's defensive potential), it's becoming increasingly obvious that these two guys are the only other guys on the squad that possess at least one ELITE level skill. It might seem like conventional wisdom to just give them a green light but there may be merits to how the coaching staff is handling their development thus far.

And quite honestly, I think a guy like Oladipo (who was given full reign when he got to ORL) is still overcoming a lot of bad habits he developed while just being let loose every night no matter what he did on the court the previous night.

I think the coaching staff is trying to really hone in on Mario and AG to minimize the development of bad habits. Yes, Mario is averaging 13.5 minutes per game but he's already LIGHT YEARS ahead from the beginning of the year defensively and in his comfort level within the offense in those limited minutes. If you would have stuck Mario on the 76ers and given him 25-30mpg from the get-go, I don't think he would be half the defensive player he is today.

Remember, he only played 15mpg last season in Europe. Yes, we'd all like at least a few plays run for him off of screens but I think that will come this season in time. He's toned down the negative body language every time something doesn't go his way (was a real problem at the beginning of the season, imo) and he's done a really great job of fighting and accepting more challenges defensively. The last OMG-Mario-did-dis-dude-just-did-dis defensive lapse I can remember was the Brooklyn game (the one before this week's) where he stood on Bojan Bogdanovic's right hip with his hands up and let him drive in uncontested for a dunk.

If Mario develops a mid-range game and keeps improving his handle, he's going to be UNGUARDABLE.

AG is quietly becoming one of our most efficient players as of late. Where we as fans see his limited minutes as a negative, AG has been making the most of his opportunities and has continued to play within the system. If he keeps this going, he'll be starting by the All-Star break. He's been playing ~25mpg for the last 7 games or so...his opportunities within the offense will come...we just need to chill. I know it's hard, but we'll get there.

That's optimistic and I applaud that.

But it's probably more due to the fact that we just gave Tobias $16M a year and benching him would:

1) Make the Magic look dumb
2) Kill his trade value

The sooner we trade Harris, the sooner AG will have a chance to shine. That's what I'm convinced of.

[Patrick1978]

I admit, I've gotten pretty annoyed that Mario and AG don't get the same opportunities on offense that others do....but I am starting to come around to the idea of bringing them along slowly. When you really look at the numbers, they're doing pretty damn well all things considered and I don't think it's a coincidence or in spite of the coaching staff. Other than Vuc (and maybe Dipo's defensive potential), it's becoming increasingly obvious that these two guys are the only other guys on the squad that possess at least one ELITE level skill. It might seem like conventional wisdom to just give them a green light but there may be merits to how the coaching staff is handling their development thus far.

And quite honestly, I think a guy like Oladipo (who was given full reign when he got to ORL) is still overcoming a lot of bad habits he developed while just being let loose every night no matter what he did on the court the previous night.

I think the coaching staff is trying to really hone in on Mario and AG to minimize the development of bad habits. Yes, Mario is averaging 13.5 minutes per game but he's already LIGHT YEARS ahead from the beginning of the year defensively and in his comfort level within the offense in those limited minutes. If you would have stuck Mario on the 76ers and given him 25-30mpg from the get-go, I don't think he would be half the defensive player he is today.

Remember, he only played 15mpg last season in Europe. Yes, we'd all like at least a few plays run for him off of screens but I think that will come this season in time. He's toned down the negative body language every time something doesn't go his way (was a real problem at the beginning of the season, imo) and he's done a really great job of fighting and accepting more challenges defensively. The last OMG-Mario-did-dis-dude-just-did-dis defensive lapse I can remember was the Brooklyn game (the one before this week's) where he stood on Bojan Bogdanovic's right hip with his hands up and let him drive in uncontested for a dunk.

If Mario develops a mid-range game and keeps improving his handle, he's going to be UNGUARDABLE.

AG is quietly becoming one of our most efficient players as of late. Where we as fans see his limited minutes as a negative, AG has been making the most of his opportunities and has continued to play within the system. If he keeps this going, he'll be starting by the All-Star break. He's been playing ~25mpg for the last 7 games or so...his opportunities within the offense will come...we just need to chill. I know it's hard, but we'll get there.

That's optimistic and I applaud that.

But it's probably more due to the fact that we just gave Tobias $16M a year and benching him would:

1) Make the Magic look dumb
2) Kill his trade value

The sooner we trade Harris, the sooner AG will have a chance to shine. That's what I'm convinced of.

Exactly AG will show his value for the magic
Who do you want in return for harris ?

[rcklsscognition]

There is a good article from Sam Mitchell floating around that is worth a read. Not saying it applies to Gordon but it gives some perspective on teaching the little things.

[MagicStarwipe]

http://www.nba.com/magic/video/teams/magic/2016/01/11/1452537378547-skiles011116.mov-223460

What is John Denton's obsession with talking about Aaron "not doing too much" and "staying in his role"? If he was any more handcuffed out there he'd literally be playing in actual shackles. He even asks these questions after good games from AG lol. No John, you're right, he shouldn't be taking jumpshots smh. At least Skiles says he likes his spot up jumper so that's something

[KillMonger]

If we don't see more involvement from AG this season then he better next season because it's year 3 time to make that leap

[JBSouthpaw]

From Zach Lowe:

3. Orlando, playing their two position-less weirdos together more

Over Orlando's past ten games, Scott Skiles has paired Tobias Harris and Aaron Gordon for almost nine minutes per game -- way more time than he gave the duo earlier in the season. That's healthy; the Magic have a lot invested in both Harris and Gordon, and they need to investigate how the two mesh.

They can switch on defense, and Gordon can try his hand defending elite wing scorers. Spacing becomes clunky on offense when they play alongside a traditional center and one of Elfrid Payton/Victor Oladipo, but the Magic have still outscored opponents by about 10 points per 100 possessions since Christmas with Harris and Gordon sharing the floor, per NBA.com research.

That's a tiny sample size. It may not hold up, and Skiles is under pressure to win now. But the Harris-Gordon combo opens exciting possibilities, and the more Gordon is out there hopping around, the more entertaining Orlando is.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14550490/toronto-spent-money-drafted-young-talent-next

[SOUL]

FREE AG

[OrlChamps2030]

Skiles: Hey Rob.. we need some veteran leadership on this team.. can we trade Aaron Gordon for PJ Tucker?



Skiles: What about for Luc Mbah A Moute?



Skiles: Matt Barnes?

[thelead]

FREE AG

[thelead]

If they want to lock the gamethread, this seems like the most appropriate thread to continue that convo...

[OrlandoNed]

Why you ask? Because Skiles is a goddam stubborn fool who is too in love with his French boy toy.

[MagicStarwipe]

I blame all of you people that said he wasn't ready. How do you feel?

[RicardoQuaresma]

To many rebounds in the first half, from AG.

[didak]

I'm with SOUL and a few others here.... PLAY HIM. PLAY HIM!

I'm on the bandwagon. Frye is also a much better option coming from the bench. AG could provide that tough matchup for opposition and force them to rejig their lineups.

[orthoman]

Why is Aaron Gordon buried on the bench?
Simple answer...Skiles is an a**h***