ORLANDO – Out of full-contact action since last July and forced to look on helplessly as his teammates theoretically pulled ahead of him this preseason, Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon admitted that he would be plenty anxious and nervous in Tuesday’s first game back.
Then, with a one/two flurry that would make even a heavyweight boxer proud, Gordon unleashed a rapid-fire sequence that showed his massive potential as a difference-making two-way player. Suddenly, whatever nerves that might have been churning in Gordon’s gut and throughout the Magic over the 20-year-old’s time away, washed away.
Just minutes after checking into a game for the first time this preseason, Gordon used his tremendous lateral quickness to track down Miami’s Gerald Green and cause him to change a 12-foot leaner that was off the mark.