was A-A-RON Gordon always a good defender or did he just suddenly become a monster?

i'm referring to his Orlando days. he was the best defender in the Suns-Nugz series and seriously gave KD trouble. KD still found a way to drop 30/40 BUT he did it [I]mostly[/I] on AG's terms. back to LeBron's 2pts isn't 2pts quote. Had he not slowed down KD for key moments, the Suns could have won an extra game and taken it to 7.

even KD acknowledged the effort he gave

[IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/yWCxMb8S/1489326294.jpg[/IMG]

He was always very good.

Magic are a losing franchise and defense is a team game. If one guy steps up on D it doesn't really matter if the rest of the team isn't trying. AG was always a Supreme athlete and he joined a team that cares about winning.

He wasn't stopping shit in orlando

[QUOTE=tpols;14834644]Magic are a losing franchise and defense is a team game. If one guy steps up on D it doesn't really matter if the rest of the team isn't trying. AG was always a Supreme athlete and he joined a team that cares about winning.[/QUOTE]

agreed on team D, but defensive players can shine on their own merits.

[QUOTE=HylianNightmare;14834666]He wasn't stopping shit in orlando[/QUOTE]

this is what i suspected. you would of have heard about his defensive impact if he was putting in that type of work.

[url]https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/aaron-gordon-playoff-stats[/url]
[url]https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2019-nba-eastern-conference-first-round-magic-vs-raptors.html[/url]

He's played in one playoffs series with Orlando and that was against Toronto Raptors team that won the championship.

He was always a good defender. You just don't get the recognition until you're put in the spotlight.

It's similar to how people think LeBron taught KCP to play defense suddenly when he got to LA.

[QUOTE=beasted;14834785]He was always a good defender.[B] You just don't get the recognition until you're put in the spotlight.[/B]

It's similar to how people think LeBron taught KCP to play defense suddenly when he got to LA.[/QUOTE]

i don't always agree with this, primarily because casuals are easily swayed by ESPN narratives. i don't blame casuals for not paying attention to all 50 teams, but it only takes catching a couple games from each team and then watching each playoff series to grasp some of the capacities of these players.

prime example: everyone thought Booker was a stat padder, a zach lavine, a non impact player. yet he's proven to score on great efficiency in the playoffs and just had a michael jordan-esque series against the champs. before you ask about game 6, i will counter that you are a casual. every suns fan could tell you he was not a stat padder or a non-factor. he just had g-leauge players around him for most of his career with mid coaches and people expected him at 22 years old to carry a g-league tteam to the nba playoffs :oldlol:

Several things to note:

1. AG was much more athletic in Orlando. And a much more consistent defender.

2. The only reason Orlando made the playoffs in 2019 and even got a game off the Raptors was their defense.

3. AG makes a lot of mental lapses on both ends out there. He is not an elite defender, he wasn't even consistently good series to series.

4. KD is absolutely out of his true prime right now. Aaron Gordon would've been in hell dealing with pre-achilles, younger much stronger(KD had more body weight in the 2010's and more speed), much more athletic version of KD.

5. It's like with a lot of stars post-injury(D-Rob, CP3, Wade) , they can give that basic stat line that can fool people into thinking their the same guy, but they're not the same guy. KD was humiliated in Boston just two postseasons ago. He is done being a terrifying killer in the playoffs.