Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon logged just 21 minutes of action during Saturday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, revealing after the game that his left Achilles tendon has been bothering him for “a while,” per Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Gordon further expanded his ailment:
“I feel like I might have been playing on it a little too long already. So now's the time I've got to get it taken care of, just so I can get healthy and get back and help my team because it's not something you want to play [around] with.”
Aaron Gordon told reporters in Milwaukee: "I feel like I might've been playing on it a little too long already. So now's the time I've got to get it taken care of just so I get healthy and get back and help my team because it's not something you want to play (around) with." https://t.co/zot11gQ9bG
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) December 29, 2019
Gordon's admission seems to indicate that a multi-game absence could be on the horizon. The 24-year-old missed three games in late November due to an ankle sprain before finding success offensively early in December. But since Dec. 15, Gordon has shot 31.5 percent from the field overall and has scored in single digits in four of his last seven outings.
Even having absorbed the blows of Gordon's injury, and that of All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, Orlando has tenuously held onto the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference despite its 14-18 record. Should Gordon be on the shelf for a prolonged period of time, Jonathan Isaac figures to see an even larger role in the team's offense, while Evan Fournier should return to a workload that he similarly enjoyed when Vucevic was out of the equation.
The Magic next take the floor Monday versus the Hawks — a game that Gordon's status is now up in the air for, at best.