Aaron Gordon finishes unlikely put-back dunk
Aaron Gordon added another gem to his highlight reel, finishing an unlikely put-back dunk over the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night.
The Orlando Magic are most likely going to miss the NBA playoffs for the fifth straight season, but their situation isn’t completely hopeless.
Although they had to trade Serge Ibaka at the trade deadline to avoid losing him in free agency for nothing this summer — after trading away Victor Oladipo and a lottery pick last summer to acquire him in the first place — the Magic freed up playing time for Aaron Gordon in the process, allowing him to play at the power forward spot, his true position.
The results haven’t been all sunshine and rainbows, but there have been plenty of reasons to feel good about the development of the player who will perhaps become their next franchise star.
Take Saturday’s home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, for example, when Gordon crashed the boards early in the third quarter with his team trailing by 10. Nikola Vucevic missed his right-handed hook shot, but Gordon was there to coral the rebound, fend off Iman Shumpert with his other hand and somehow slam the ball back down into the hoop:
Put
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 12, 2017
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With his high-flying athleticism and lengthy wingspan, plays like this probably shouldn’t come as a surprise. But for a guy who underwhelmed in the 2017 Slam Dunk Contest because he was dealing with an injury, it’s good to see him seemingly back to 100 percent and making ridiculous feats like this look simple.
The Cavs wound up winning the Saturday matchup 116-104, led by a 23-13-12 triple-double form LeBron James and 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from Kyrie Irving. Gordon had 16 points and five rebounds, while Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 20 points and 16 boards.
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Orlando has badly mismanaged its assets over the last few seasons, and another rebuild feels imminent. But with Gordon providing plays like this at only 21 years old, perhaps the next chapter of Magic basketball will be better.