ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic’s comeback win over the Philadelphia 76ers spawned breathless fawning over a behind-the-back pass by D.J. Augustin, Jonathan Isaac’s rejection of a Joel Embiid dunk attempt and Terrence Ross’ go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds remaining.
Rightly so. Those sequences deserve their places on highlight reels.
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But don’t forget Aaron Gordon’s “hockey assist.”
The play lacked flash, but it represents significant improvement for Gordon, and that improvement has fueled the Magic’s recent success.
Midway through the second quarter, Gordon caught an entry pass on the left edge of the lane. Two Philadelphia players converged on Gordon to prevent a clean look at the basket. Instead of attempting a turnaround fadeaway jumper, Gordon hurled a pass to Ross in the right corner, forcing the defense to rotate to Ross.
Ross, in turn, swung the ball to wide-open Wes Iwundu along the right wing. Iwundu hesitated for a moment.
“Shoot it!” Gordon yelled.
Iwundu launched a long 2 and swished it, extending Orlando’s lead to 45-40.
Gordon’s pass made Iwundu’s basket possible. If basketball scorekeepers could employ hockey’s rules for assists, both Gordon and Ross would have received credit. Instead, the Magic recorded only one assist on the play, and it belonged to Ross.
Not that Gordon is complaining. Far from it. The way Gordon and other Magic players see things, their 7-8 start this season is much different from the team’s 19-13 start during the 2015-16 season under coach Scott Skiles and their 8-4 start last season under coach Frank Vogel.
This time, with victories in five of their last seven games, the players think they can keep going.
“We’re developing a sustainable way of playing,” Gordon said. “Last year, we were relying on shot-making alone, and when you don’t make shots, we weren’t winning. This year, it’s more about holding everybody accountable to the way that we need to play.”
Magic players must focus on specific areas tailored to their individual games. Center Nikola Vucevic, for example, already was adept at passing and mid-range shooting, but he needed to concentrate on his defense and on taking more shots near the hoop. Vucevic has improved in both areas.
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For Gordon, the new areas of focus were different. During his first four NBA seasons and even at the start of this season, he often attempted low-percentage shots, such as off-balance jumpers or on-the-move 3-pointers. He also had a tendency to dribble aimlessly, which took Orlando out of its offensive rhythm.
Now, however, he’s doing a better job of picking spots to attack. His hockey assist midway through the second quarter provided a perfect example. When he caught the ball, Gordon could have attempted to split Philadelphia’s double-team, but that would have left him vulnerable to a turnover and would have required some acrobatics near the rim. Gordon also could have faded away for a difficult jumper.
Instead, Gordon created an opportunity for Ross. And Ross, in turn, created an opportunity for Iwundu. Even if Iwundu had missed his jumper, the Magic could have taken solace that they had generated a wide-open shot. Passing up average shots for good shots builds trust. Coaches and players around the league have a phrase for that: “playing the right way.”
“We’re playing the right way,” Ross said. “We’re playing together. We have a lot of momentum going and we’re just trying to build off of that, trying to create the right habits, so we can sustain this for as long as possible.”
Because Gordon already has played four full NBA seasons, it can be easy to forget that he’s still young. He turned just 23 in September. In his four previous seasons, he had four different coaches: Jacque Vaughn, interim coach James Borrego, Skiles and Vogel. Naturally, each coach brought different areas of emphasis, and the constant churn hindered players’ development.
Gordon appears to have bought in to the messages espoused by new coach Steve Clifford and his assistants.
He is averaging a career-high 2.8 assists per game.
The NBA’s sophisticated player-tracking statistics also confirm what the naked eye already sees: Gordon has made significant improvements as a passer, especially lately.
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Consider a statistic called “potential assists.” A potential assist is a pass that results in a teammate shooting within one dribble of receiving the ball. Since Nov. 4, Gordon has averaged 6.7 potential assists per game, according to the NBA’s data. Last season, Gordon averaged only 4.6 per game.
And consider secondary assists — the so-called hockey assists. Since Nov. 4, Gordon has averaged 0.5 secondary assists per game. Last season, he averaged only 0.2 per game.
“His decision-making has been much better,” Vucevic said. “He lets the game come to him. His passing is much better. I think it just comes from him taking his time, making better decisions, studying the game. It’s experience, but it’s definitely something he’s put as a point of emphasis for him to improve. You can see that he really tries and wants to make the right play, which is huge for us.”
The secondary assist in which Gordon threw the ball to Ross, who then passed to Iwundu, was just the latest example.
“I’m not counting, man, but I think somebody’s skimping me on my assists,” Gordon joked. “It was a good pass, right?”
Yes, it was.
On Wednesday, Gordon played an ultra-efficient game. He scored 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He also added six assists with only one turnover. He also guarded Ben Simmons effectively, collected six rebounds and blocked two shots.
“He’s played five games where his all-around play (has been) just terrific,” Clifford said. “Look at him: efficient offense, making plays for his teammates and defending and rebounding. He’s doing it every night.”
After the win over Philly, Gordon sat at his locker and answered questions about the team’s comeback victory after trailing by 16 points early in the fourth quarter.
Gordon was effusive with his praise for teammates, commending Vucevic for his 30-point game, crediting Isaac for daring to block Embiid’s dunk and lauding the Magic reserves.
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He was just as unselfish off the floor as he had been on it.
“We’ve got a lot of firepower,” Gordon said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can play, a lot of guys that care about winning.”
Gordon is showing that he cares about winning, too.
One hockey assist at a time.
(Top photo: Reinhold Matay / USA Today Sports)
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