ORLANDO – In order to keep their winning ways going, the Orlando Magic know that they will likely have to try and pull off the impossible – slow down superstar forward LeBron James – tonight at the Amway Center.
James, now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers after defecting from Cleveland for a second time, is coming off a performance that was not only historically great, but it allowed him to also notch some history. On Wednesday, James had 44 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while going 13of 19 from the floor, five of six from 3-point range and 13 of 15 from the free throws line. According to BasketballReference.com, it was the seventh most efficient performance of James’ legendary career. Also, that performance allowed him to move past Wilt Chamberlain for fifth all-time in scoring with 31,425 points.
The task of trying to slow down James could fall primarily on the broad shoulders of forward Jonathan Isaac and/or Wes Iwundu because a lingering ankle injury to Aaron Gordon could threaten his availability. Gordon sprained his left ankle on Nov. 9 against Washington and missed the following game in New York two nights later. He returned to play on Monday and Wednesday, but lingering pain has made him questionable for tonight’s game.
Further complicating matters is the fact that Isaac – who returned on Wednesday after missing six games with an ankle sprain – is expected to once again be on a minutes’ restriction tonight.
Gordon and Isaac were two of the heroes from the Magic’s thrilling come-from-behind victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday. If Gordon can go, he and Isaac will likely take turns doing battle with the 6-foot-8, 250-pound James.
``You can’t game plan for that guy and you can’t stop him,’’ Gordon said of James. ``There’s nothing you can do to totally stop a guy like that. But you better have some physical matchups, have some athletes on your team and a lot of guys to throw at him. You’ve just got to try to make things difficult on him.’’
Relatively speaking, Orlando has had a bit of luck in making things difficult for James through the years. In 53 career regular-season games against the Magic, James has averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.2 assists. For comparisons sake, James’ 25.7 ppg. is his fifth-lowest scoring average against any of the NBA’s 30 teams.
``He’s incredible, first of all, because of his size,’’ said Magic coach Steve Clifford, who has faced James throughout the superstar’s entire career. ``But then it’s his skill level, it’s his basketball IQ, decision making and competitive spirit. It’s all just so extraordinary and he’s another one of those guys who gets better every year.’’
Gordon has been on that track of getting better and has recently played one of the best stretches of basketball of his career. If he can’t play tonight, it will be a huge blow the Magic’s chances of ending the Lakers’ four-game winning streak.
Over his last six games, Gordon has averaged 19.8 points and 8.3 rebounds – numbers that aren’t that surprising. What is surprising is the 3.7 assists with just 1.0 turnovers in those games. Also, Gordon has been just as efficient with his shot, hitting 53.3 percent of his tries overall and 41.3 percent from 3-point range. In Wednesday’s defeat of Philadelphia, Gordon had 17 points, six rebounds and six assists, while turning the ball over just once.
``Of all the things (from Wednesday’s win) – from the (Terrence Ross) shot-making, the Jonathan Isaac coming back (from an ankle injury) and (Nikola Vucevic) was terrific, but from watching the film it was Aaron Gordon, who was great,’’ Clifford said. ``Not good, great. Great with decision-making, great with taking advantages of switches and great getting (Vucevic) the ball and great when he got the ball and terrific defense. Those other guys were so, so good, but he had a terrific all-around game.’’
Great could also be a word used to describe Isaac’s game-turning block on Philadelphia center Joel Embiid in Wednesday’s fourth quarter. Despite the 280-pound Embiid had a running start at the rim, Isaac met the big man at the rim and blocked his dunk attempt with his left hand. Isaac then started a fast break that led to Ross’ go-ahead 3-pointer.
``Just a great play,’’ Clifford raved. ``It’s not just that he blocked the shot; he got the loose ball and started the transition himself with two or three quick dribbles to halfcourt and it led to an open three. It’s a momentum-changing play.
``I’m pretty sure if you took video of all of Embiid’s dunks with people standing in front of him you could find (plenty of instances) of people finding a way to not get in that guy’s way,’’ Clifford added.
If Gordon can’t play, Isaac and Iwundu will get their shots defensively tonight at James. The two of them played a big role in Orlando beating James’ Cleveland squad twice last season. Tonight, they hope to have enough firepower to slow down James.
``His passing is what’s really the problem. He’s such a good passer that he just picks you apart,’’ Gordon said. ``And he’s so developed and continues to develop his skills.
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