Aaron Gordon keeps things simple and goes big

Aaron Gordon has been nothing potential to this point in his career. Wednesday, Gordon kept things simple and produced some big, tangible results.

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It is easy to get distracted and awed by the highlights when it comes to Aaron Gordon. And, when it comes to Aaron Gordon, there are always a lot of highlights. He seems to have at least one Vineable moment per game.

Gordon is a bundle of athletic potential that has not quite manifested itself fully, though.

The Orlando Magic hoped this year that he would take some sort of leap in his third year — moving from energy player to budding young star worthy of the fourth overall selection in 2014.

That part has escaped him. His biggest highlight in his career to date was his performance at the Slam Dunk Contest.

The Magic opted to move him from power forward to small forward. But Gordon had not put it all together. He was not quite a power forward and not quite a small forward.

He remained just full of potential.

The plays that get the attention are the high-flying dunks. And Gordon can provide those. What he did Wednesday against the L.A. Clippers, even in a 113-108 loss at the Amway Center, was something much more. Something he had never done before.

Gordon became the go-to guy. He became the reliable offensive option and the defensive stopper. This is what Gordon can be at his very best. This is who the Magic drafted when they looked at this young player full of potential. This two-way player capable of burning a team on either end with his agility and sped, creating mismatches in his favor on both ends against anybody.

The process has been slow, but Gordon is beginning to realize who he can be. Incrementally, Gordon is finding his fit in the NBA and shining with the Magic.

“He was aggressive,” Jeff Green said. “He didn’t hesitate on his shot. He played simple. When the shot was there, he took it. When the drive was there, he got in transition. He showed it all tonight.”

Gordon finished with career-high 33 points. He made 13 of 21 field goals and four of his eight 3-pointers. This was certainly Gordon’s finest, most efficient scoring performance. One that seemed completely out of character for the young forward with the struggling jumper and no position.

Sure, Gordon still had the dunk — plenty of them. He skied for one in transition. Evan Fournier fed him an impressive alley-oop off a pick and roll — Fournier darting into the lane to find Gordon cutting baseline for a reverse jam. Gordon had a putback too.

That part of his game will never go away. Not until he cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Gordon’s game was a lot more nuanced. And a lot simpler.

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“That’s part of my package,” Gordon said. “If they are bigger, I’m quicker. If they are smaller I can overpower them. I’m just disappointed we couldn’t get the win.”

Gordon has often gotten himself stuck when he tries to drive and dribble around too much. His game is best when it is simple. He is at his best when he can get going to the basket in transition and use his athleticism to attack the basket. His jumper is best when he takes a single dribble to get into rhythm and create space or as a spot-up.

Even then his offense has been inconsistent at best. Gordon is averaging a mere 10.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He is shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and 32.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Those are hardly inspiring offensive numbers. Decidedly, Gordon had not taken some leap even with more offensive freedom and trust.

It hardly seemed like a game like this was possible from Gordon. It is still likely a rare occurrence.

But Gordon kept things simple, yet aggressive. He did not try to do too much. And that effort showed in the opportunities he took advantage of. His versatility allowed him to play when the Clippers went small or big.

This was what the Magic want to see from Gordon. He made shots and took what the defense gave him. The Clippers dared Gordon to beat him. And he almost did.

“I don’t expect to get 33 points from him every night,” coach Frank Vogel said. “I encourage him to explore his game within the team concept and keep shooting the basketball. He works extremely hard on his 3-point shooting and he is capable of what he did tonight. It’s a great all-around basketball game for him. I’m proud of him.”

Vogel started his statement on Gordon’s performance Wednesday with what Gordon has carved his identity on — his defense. He has become one of the best young perimeter defenders in the league.

That was part of Gordon’s special night too.

With the Clippers going small, Gordon spent much of the game guarding J.J. Redick, chasing him around screens and closing out on shots. Redick made just 3 of 11 shots for the game. Gordon took his turn on Blake Griffin too.

He still made his mistakes — and Gordon was the first to admit it after the game. But he largely played well defensively, even having to play against quicker players on the perimeter.

“At his best, he’s a two-way wing player that is taking any matchup that comes his way,” Vogel said. “Much like I used Paul George defensively, we like to put him on point guards and use his length and space and be able to switch things. There are some really good things there. It’s all new to him. Asking him to guard point guards as a first matchup is new.”

It is all part of the learning process for the young player.

Gordon is still not a finished product. The Magic were not expecting him to be at this point. They certainly expected him to take on a little more responsibility.

Orlando’s goals may be more immediate this season, and that may put more pressure on Gordon to develop faster, but he is showing signs of what he may one day become.

This may have been the best Gordon can play. But it was also a sign of what Gordon can be when he puts his talent together.

For one night, he put all that athleticism together and cashed some of that potential into reality. All by keeping things simple and playing within himself.