The List: Aaron Gordon's strengths, weaknesses, and fit on the Denver Nuggets

1. The most important aspect of Aaron Gordon’s skillset is his one-on-one defense. He does a great job of keeping his defender in front of him, utilizing his size and strength to contest shots, and moving his feet without fouling. He is more of a disciplined defender than overly aggressive defender, playing the angles and keeping the offense away from the easy shots rather than gunning for steals and blocks.

2. One of Gordon’s unique skills is his ability to change directions on defense. Watch how easily he stops on a dime and shifts his weight left-right to mirror the defender. This is a rare skill for a player with his size. It allows him to stunt into the paint, rotate on defense, and closeout on shooters without completely falling out of position.

3. Gordon is shooting 43% on 0-dribble three-point shots this season. He’s scoring 1.03 points per possession on handoffs, placing him in the 70th percentile among NBA players. Both numbers provide hope that Gordon can keep the defense honest when they go under screens on him off of DHOs or leave him open on a kick out.

Neither shot is likely to become a featured aspect of Denver’s offense but Gordon appears reliable enough that the team should not actively go away from those options within the flow of the offense.

4. Teams will have a hard time switching offball screens against the Denver Nuggets since both Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. are so tall and can play above the rim. But when teams do switch offball screens, Gordon will make a killing.

First, by slipping screens and catching quick hitters from Nikola Jokic.

5. Second, off of high-low passes. Plays like this one might not even require a switch as one of Gordon or Michael Porter Jr. will find themselves with a height or athleticism mismatch against most teams.

6. Third, off of fade routes and jump balls. These are plays where a cut might not lead to an open basket but will place the defense in a vulnerable position for a sort of high arcing moon pass that Gordon will win against most wings or guards.

7. And fourth, off of duck ins and seals. There are a lot of similarities between Gordon’s game and Wilson Chandler’s game. Chandler made a killing off of these types of duck ins whenever teams would guard him with an undersized wing or whenever teams would switch a smaller defender onto him.

8. Only about 5% of Gordon’s offense this season has come off of cuts, according to NBA.com. That number is almost certain to rise in Denver since 9 of Denver’s main rotation players exceed that rate. For reference, about 15% of Michael Porter Jr.’s offense comes off of cuts. Cuts are a hyper efficient form of offense, with the average NBA player scoring about 1.28 points per possession on cuts.

9. If a higher percentage of Gordon’s usage will come from offball action, he is likely to see a decrease in his onball shot creation. Gordon is an average scorer off of the bounce and is capable of attacking in certain situations but he has a surprising lack of shake to his game for a player with his athletic tools. Perhaps this will change as he plays with more spacing. But one of the main questions facing Gordon’s assimilation into the Nuggets’ system will be whether or not he is willing reduce the number of plays like the ones below.

10. He is capable of bringing the ball up the court in transition and initiating the offense after a made basket. In Orlando, he would often call his own number or look to create offense out of improvisation and aggressive takes into the paint. In Denver, that shot creation won’t be necessary. But his ability to begin a possession with the ball in his hands will allow Jamal Murray to move offball, a spot that he has excelled from in his career.  Alongside both Murray and either Monte Morris or Will Barton, Gordon becomes an above average third ball handler.

11. Here is an example of Gordon’s limitations as a ball handler. There is a safe level in which Gordon is comfortable to attack and create off of the dribble and he can be reliable in those spaces so long as he doesn’t try to make the homerun plays.

12. This is an extremely small thing but I like how Gordon makes a quick entry pass on this possession. These types of quick reads aren’t complex but they are an essential part of the Denver Nuggets’ system and they requires who won’t fall in love with holding the ball and surveying the court for long period of time.

13. One thing that stood out when watching film of Gordon this season was that he has a tendency to play below the rim on shots around the basket. That weakness is compounded by his below average touch on tip-ins and short shots. With his athleticism, I’d love to see him explode toward the rim more.

Overall I think that Gordon is a great addition but his contributions to the team might not always jump off of the page. Perhaps his greatest value to the team will be how he unlocks the talents of other players on the roster more than how he shines individually.

Defensively, he has the tools to be an elite lockdown defender, especially against many of the most important players in the western conference. Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard. He can switch onto smaller guards as well but I doubt he will draw those assignments from the opening tip.

As a help side defender he does a great job of staying disciplined, understanding the defensive principles, and covering a lot of ground. He probably won’t be a player who elevates your overall team defense the way a traditional rim protector would but his length, athleticism, and attention to detail, as well as his ability to limit high volume wing scorers will likely have a meaningful impact on the team’s overall defensive ceiling.

Offensively, he is much more of a 4th or 5th option. I wouldn’t be surprised if he scored fewer points than Will Barton. Gordon isn’t a natural scorer. Fortunately, he seems content with that. Even in Orlando, Gordon attempted just the 4th most field-goal attempts per game and just 0.9 attempts more per game than rookie Cole Anthony. From a volume standpoint, Gordon shouldn’t have a hard time fitting in to a starting lineup that already features at least three players who are more deserving of shot attempts.

His shooting is decent. In the playoffs, teams might dare him to take threes but they won’t be willing to leave him wide open all game. He could benefit from becoming more aggressive on cuts and on the offensive glass as he will find himself being guarded by smaller players quite often. He seems to play in 2nd gear a lot. The Nuggets will need 5th gear from him more often. This play from game 3 of the 2019 playoffs really concerns me.

Most important of all will be the pressure he puts on opposing teams to matchup with both him and Porter Jr. Go big on Porter and Gordon should be able to beast you inside and on the glass. Go big on Gordon and Porter will shoot over the top of defenders on handoffs and post ups.