In their first year under head coach Scott Skiles, the Orlando Magic, who sit 20-20 on the season, have made some major improvements after their struggles of the last three seasons. However, since the turn of the New Year, the Magic have been reeling, losing seven of their last eight, putting them in danger of falling out of the current playoff picture. While injuries have played a role in their recent slide, so has poor and inconsistent play from a Magic bunch who posted the best December of any team in the Eastern Conference.
One of the central issues has been Skiles' use of his rotation of late. While the team had success when they moved Victor Oladipo into the Sixth Man role, inserting the previously oft used Channing Frye into the lineup, they've struggled to show the same fire they did last month. Skiles has implored a handful of different lineups this season, and could be forced to shake things up once again with his team struggling so much.
What would that move be? Inserting second year man Aaron Gordon into the lineup at power forward, replacing Frye, who has struggled with his shot and has begun to hurt the team more and more defensively.
The uber athletic Gordon has made several strides this season following his up-and-down rookie season that saw him miss over half the season with a foot injury. This season, Gordon has put up more than respectable per-36 minute numbers, averaging 13.1 points and 9.2 rebounds while posting a solid 55.7 true shooting percentage. To go along with his solid numbers, Gordon has established himself as a guy who will bring a copious amount of energy when he's on the floor, and make a significant impact as well.
From his defensive intensity to his strong instincts on the boards, Gordon has made his impact felt when he's on the floor. Add in the fact that he's showing consistent improvement on the offensive end, and there's no wonder why Rob Hennigan and Co. decided to take him fourth overall in 2014.
While Gordon's position has been relatively ambiguous throughout the early stages of his career, his recent string of strong play has come at the power forward spot. Should Gordon be inserted into the starting lineup, that's where he'd be playing, which could reap benefits for the Magic.
Despite his play clearly making an impact, the numbers don't suggest that Gordon has that big of an impact when he's on the floor. With the second-year man on the floor, the Magic have been outscored by an average of .4 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com/stats. With Gordon off, the Magic are slightly better, getting outscored by just .1 points per 100 possessions.
However, with the defensive minded forward on the floor, the Magic's defense 100.1 points per 100 possessions, which would rank them ninth in the NBA. With Gordon off the floor, the Magic give up over two more points per 100 possessions, -- 102.4 to be exact -- which would drop them down to 16th in the league.
While Gordon clearly improves the team on the defensive end, offensively the Arizona product hurts the team. With him on the floor, the Magic are roughly 2.6 points per 100 possessions worse. While some of this might be due to him not being fully developed on that end, some could also be due to the fact he's mostly playing with reserves while he's on the floor.
The bottom line is this: Gordon makes the Magic a much better team on the defensive end, which is what they want. Throughout the season coach Skiles has talked about the defense needing to be the teams backbone. Inserting Gordon into the lineup would certainly help his defense, which continues to falter more often than not.
Statistics aside, Gordon is an important part of this young teams core, and while they're currently sitting in the position to have a shot at the playoffs, they need to be able to balance development of the team and individual players better. While Frye has made an impact this season with his ability to space the floor, getting Gordon the experience of starting is more important, especially if it will help the defensive struggles. Gordon has also proven he deserves more than his 19 minutes per game, and with the team in free fall, it might just be time for Skiles to look at another lineup change to light a fire under his players.
Even is Skiles doesn't go with Gordon starting, the second-year man is showing the fact that he's a part of this teams future, and will play a big role as they continue to grow.
