The Orlando Magic are taking the floor Wednesday versus the Washington Wizards without the service of forward Aaron Gordon. Early in the first quarter against Washington, forward Jonathan Isaac was stretched to the locker room, increasing the team's need for Gordon's presence.
Despite having missed each of Orlando's last two games due to a sore left Achilles, Gordon is optimistic about his chances of returning to action in the very near future, noting that he plans to get back onto the practice court as early as Thursday.
“I think [Thursday] we're gonna get back on the court and it's feeling a lot better,” Gordon said, per John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com. [Athletic trainer/manual therapist] Aki [Tajima] has been doing a great job with [the Achilles], getting the swelling down.”
Aaron Gordon has seen his scoring average dip to 13.2 points per game this season for the Magic, as he is on pace to shoot a career low 40.4 percent from the field overall. After averaging better than a make and a half from behind the 3-point line over each of the past two seasons, he has knocked just 1.1 on a nightly basis this year while shooting 29.2 percent from deep.
The Magic and Gordon are committed to one another for at least two additional seasons beyond this year in the midst of a four-year, $76 million deal. Any long-term absence from Gordon would likely derail Orlando's playoff chances in the Eastern Conference, as they entered play Wednesday tenuously hanging onto the No. 8 seed by virtue of a 14-19 record.
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