In the absence of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. last season, Aaron Gordon served as Nikola Jokic’s main lieutenant. Second best scorer in the team with an average of 15 match points, he will see his role evolve this season, if only in relation to his positioning on the field.
Mike Malone plans to reposition him to his “ regular post ” from strong winger, rather occupied by Jeff Green last year, pushing Aaron Gordon to play in 3. “ I told him about it last week: ‘Last year, you were asked to do way too much. Take care of Ja Morant one night for 48 minutes, another for 48 minutes. I think it wore him out », esteem the coachtalking about his defensive missions.
But the return of Jamal Murray, coupled with the arrivals of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown, should allow him to breathe in this sector. “‘You will have to defend a little on (opposing backs) but we have other guys who can do it, so you can keep your natural position'” told him his coach.
A lack of aggression
The latter, aware of relieving his interior in defense, has also set him a goal in attack: shoot six free throws on average each evening. ” Because that means he runs in transition, he goes to the circle. And when he has the ball, he lowers his head and attacks the basket “, justifies Mike Malone who remembers his Game 4 in the playoffs, against the Warriors last year, where he was very aggressive (21 points with 10/13 in throws). “ When he has this kind of state of mind, he scares others. »
” Yeah, that’s gonna be fun. I can go closer to the circle “, recognizes the former Orlando player who has the physique and the power to achieve this goal. However, he will have to display this state of mind over time because the interior has been three free throws attempted on average since the start of his career, for 70% success.
During the offseason, he also worked on his game at the post, his “floaters” or his “hooks”. A job provided by the 27-year-old who knows the ambitions of his club.
” We are not there yet. I’m not where I need to be as a player. We are not where we should be collectively. We still have a long way to go “, he assesses before concluding:” I know what we can become. I know we have the potential, if everyone stays healthy, to try to win the title. »
| Aaron Gordon | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2014-15 | ENT | 47 | 17 | 44.7 | 27.1 | 72.1 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 5.2 |
| 2015-16 | ENT | 78 | 24 | 47.3 | 29.6 | 66.8 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 6.5 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 9.2 |
| 2016-17 | ENT | 80 | 29 | 45.4 | 28.8 | 71.9 | 1.5 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 12.7 |
| 2017-18 | ENT | 58 | 33 | 43.4 | 33.6 | 69.8 | 1.5 | 6.4 | 7.9 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 17.6 |
| 2018-19 | ENT | 78 | 34 | 44.9 | 34.9 | 73.1 | 1.7 | 5.7 | 7.4 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 16.0 |
| 2019-20 | ENT | 62 | 33 | 43.7 | 30.8 | 67.4 | 1.7 | 5.9 | 7.7 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 14.4 |
| 2020-21 * | All Teams | 50 | 28 | 46.3 | 33.5 | 65.1 | 1.5 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 12.4 |
| 2020-21 * | ENT | 25 | 29 | 43.7 | 37.5 | 62.9 | 1.6 | 5.1 | 6.6 | 4.2 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 14.6 |
| 2020-21 * | DEN | 25 | 26 | 50.0 | 26.6 | 70.5 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 4.7 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 10.2 |
| 2021-22 | DEN | 75 | 32 | 52.0 | 33.5 | 74.3 | 1.7 | 4.2 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 15.0 |
| Total | 528 | 29 | 46.0 | 32.3 | 70.2 | 1.6 | 4.7 | 6.3 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 13.0 | |
