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By John DentonOct. 31, 2014
ORLANDO – That gutsy guard who was hitting in-your-face jumpers on Thursday, almost single-handedly leading the Orlando Magic back into contention and masquerading as Ben Gordon circa 2009 was actually the Ben Gordon of 2014.
Same person as five years earlier, the quietly confident veteran shooting guard insisted on Friday. In fact, even though he is somewhat hesitant to say it, Gordon resents the heck out of the fact that many in the basketball world felt he was done as an elite player after a disastrous couple of seasons in Detroit and Charlotte.
Gordon logged as many or more hours than any Magic player at the team’s facility this past offseason as he was worked tirelessly to get his game back while in Orlando. He wants to show that just because he’s 31 years old and just because his numbers plummeted steeply the last few years like a car going over a cliff that he still has plenty of game left to contribute to a team.
Gordon’s heard the whispers about how he was done, how this was his last chance, and he did something about this summer to reverse the course of his career.
``I just use it as motivation. In the evenings when I’m just sitting home, the stuff that I hear is just reason to get up and go to the gym and shoot some more jumpers or shoot some more free throws,’’ said Gordon, whose Magic (0-2) host the Toronto Raptors on Saturday at 7 p.m. ``I just use what I hear as motivation. The best thing that you can do is speak with your actions instead of going and complaining to the (media). Don’t talk about it and instead put your work in because most of the time it will pay off. That’s more where my focus is.’’
Gordon’s play did all of his talking on Thursday night at the Amway Center. He poured in 22 points, six free throws and two 3-pointers in 26 minutes. His ability to create offense – even with much taller defenders hanging all over him – with those high-arching teardrop shots allowed Orlando to cut a 17-point deficit to two and nearly pull out a stunning victory. The Magic ultimately lost 105-98 to the Washington Wizards, but in the process they just might have discovered what they have in a determined and dialed in Gordon this season.
``It was great to see him continue to trust what we are doing,’’ said Magic coach Jacque Vaughn, who also was quick to point out Gordon’s toughness and unselfishness (four assists). ``I look beyond the offense and I thought he battled, whether that was trying to get a loose ball, diving on the floor, boxing out or getting deflections throughout the course of the game. Not only did he make shots for us, but he created some opportunities energy-wise and effort-wise.’’
An Orlando team very much in need of outside shooting and offensive pop off the bench took a chance on Gordon in July even though his career had seemingly been in a freefall the past five seasons. He went from averaging 20.7 points per game in 2008-09 for the Chicago Bulls to getting waived prior to the playoffs last March by the Charlotte Bobcats. It was a bizarre ending to a two-year run in Charlotte where Gordon never meshed with rookie head coach Mike Dunlap in 2012-13 and fell out of favor with head coach Steve Clifford last season.
Gordon said his struggles were more because of misuse than a drastic erosion of his skills.
``There was never any doubt in my abilities because I was seeing all of the jumpers go in every day in practice and seeing the work that I was doing. But I just wasn’t getting the opportunities,’’ he stressed. ``That’s what this league is all about – getting opportunities and being in the right situations. I’ve been around the league long enough now to realize that.
``When I first came into the league (with Chicago in 2004), I was prepared for the opportunity and I was allowed to play through mistakes and develop my confidence,’’ said Gordon, who recently noted that his most successful stints in the NBA have come when he played for coaches who were former players (i.e. Scott Skiles and Vinny Del Negro).
``Sometimes you put the work in, but you don’t get the same opportunities. So in the NBA, it’s about getting the right opportunities. Everybody can play, but it’s just a matter of being ready for the opportunity.’’
The Magic felt comfortable gambling on Gordon because they had a history with him during the early stages of his career. Magic assistant GM Matt Lloyd worked with Gordon when the two were members of the Chicago Bulls. And Magic assistant GM Scott Perry was a part of the front office staff that brought Gordon to Detoit following his highly successful five-year run in Chicago.
What they remembered about Gordon was that he was an absolute gym rat and someone who took his craft – primarily shooting – very seriously. Also, they knew he was a player filled with pride and one who would work this season to regain his status as an elite scorer.
Vaughn got to see that firsthand over the summer when he had several conversations with Gordon about how he likes to be used in various offensive sets. Also, he saw Gordon’s dedication in the way that he would be at the team’s facility getting up jump shots at all hours of the day and night.
``Where he was at as far as his mentality was concerned, he didn’t like the way that things felt the last time he was on the floor,’’ Vaughn said. ``He wanted to kind of erase that (memory) out of people’s minds and get back to being the dedicated, hard-working individual that he was accustomed to seeing on a daily basis. I sensed that in our conversations.’’
Gordon’s 22 points on Thursday were his most since April 6, 2013 when he surprisingly made six 3-pointers and scored 27 points in Brooklyn for a Charlotte team well out of the playoff race. And Thursday’s effort came two nights after the season debut in New Orleans where Gordon missed seven of eight field goal attempts – a somewhat misleading stat because three of the shots were blocked by bigger guards.
On Thursday, Gordon had just four points in the first half, but he heated up late in the third period after the Magic’s self-inflicted wounds (18 turnovers) put them in a daunting 17-point hole.
Working with veteran point guard Luke Ridnour (eight points, four assists, no turnovers in almost 25 minutes) and playing off Magic center Nik Vucevic (23 points and 12 rebounds), Gordon drilled five of eight shots and two 3-pointers in the second half. And because defenders had to run at him because of the reputation of his jump shot, he got to the free throw line seven times with six makes. He calmly stepped to the line with 44 seconds remaining and hit three free throws that pulled Orlando to within 100-98 – as close as it was at any point in the second half.
``I wasn’t surprised at what Ben was doing,’’ said Ridnour, who has grown close to Gordon because of their status as second stringers and their many mutual friends throughout the NBA. ``I think this is a good place for (Gordon) to be. They are putting a lot of trust in him and letting him go. I was playing against him when he was in Chicago and he was so tough. It’s fun to see him playing so well again.’’
That’s certainly the goal for Gordon as he works to re-establish himself as a go-to scorer once again. He likes the freedom that Vaughn has given him to run off screens and create his own shot and he’s excited about the prospects of being on the floor at the same time as 3-point shooters like Channing Frye and Evan Fournier.
He feels the marriage of opportunity with the hard work that he put in over the summer will lead to more nights of the Ben Gordon of 2014 looking like Ben Gordon circa 2005. He knows that he’s worked to put himself in position to be successful and also quiet the whispers that he’s done as a top scorer.
``When you work hard you don’t want that hard work to go to waste. When you’re hard work is overlooked and you hear people doubting you, it’s upsetting,’’ he said. ``But my work ethic hasn’t changed and now it’s a matter of reaping what you sew.
``They brought me here to be a spark, to bring some scoring and shooting to the team. There will be a lot of games like that this year,’’ Gordon said. ``I’m not surprised at what I did (on Thursday) because that’s what I expect of myself. That’s what I’ve been able to do throughout my career. I don’t know how often I can do that, but hopefully I can continue to make an impact on this team.’’