The Orlando Magic have struggled mightily in recent weeks after a strong start to the season, and their road to another playoff berth grew all the more difficult on Sunday when Aaron Gordon left a loss to Toronto with an ankle injury.
Gordon left in the third quarter and did not return, and according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, he will miss 4-6 weeks after an MRI determined he had suffered a severe left ankle sprain that, while not requiring surgery, will keep the swingman out for a month or more.
Magic forward Aaron Gordon has a severe left ankle sprain — no fracture — and is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2021
The Magic have been brutal offensively since Markelle Fultz suffered a season-ending knee injury, but when Gordon’s on the floor they are able to stay afloat. When he leaves, they lose one of their few creative offensive players and things get very dire.
Magic have had a 50.9 eFG% when Gordon is on the court, which… isn’t great.
Drops to 47.1% when he’s off the court. https://t.co/b2yfzybVNj
— Div B (@statcenter) February 1, 2021
Orlando has had brutal injury luck in the past year, starting with Jonathan Isaac’s torn ACL in the Bubble followed by Fultz suffering the same injury early this season. Now, without Gordon, they’ll have to rely even further on Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, and Terrence Ross to prop up what is already just the 28th best offense in the NBA, with rookie Cole Anthony being tasked with an even greater creative role than he already has been thrust into. For a team that’s gone 2-11 in its last 13 games, it appears things will not be getting much better anytime soon, which is a real shame for a team that’s been highly competitive in recent years despite the lack of star power.