Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs was an ugly one for the Denver Nuggets after being blown out by the Golden State Warriors. Luckily for the Nuggets, there are more games to be played but if they want a chance at winning the series, they’ll need Aaron Gordon to step up.
When they acquired Gordon last season at the trade deadline, he was not expected to be on the roster as a number two option to reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. However, this season has not been the most healthy year for the team as Jamal Murray never returned from his torn ACL and Michael Porter Jr. has missed the majority of the season with back problems.
He is not a player who is a stranger to the postseason as this one marks his fourth time playing in the playoffs after making it twice with the Orlando Magic and now twice with the Denver Nuggets.
Last year he played well for the team when they were in the playoffs and played good defense for the team when they needed him to. He didn’t have as much pressure to score the ball because the team still had most of the core besides Murray, but now he is the second or third option most nights to help the team win.
Aaron Gordon remains one of the best defensive players that the team has, but he needs to step up offensively if they want to make a deep run in the playoffs. In Game 1 against the Warriors, he was tasked with guarding Jordan Poole after the young guard got off to a hot start. His defense is clearly valuable and Michael Malone is more than happy to put him on any smaller scoring option when needed.
During the season, AG averaged 15 points on 52 percent shooting which shows that he can score efficiently when needed to. A lot of those points were off assists which makes sense given he’s mostly next to Jokic. In the regular season, just over two-thirds of Gordon’s baskets were assisted on according to Cleaning the Glass, one of the highest marks in the league.
Against Golden State, he did not have those same fortunes and shot poorly from the field, and was having a tough time getting the ball in the hoop. The Warriors were locked in on Nikola and were more than happy letting him score one-on-one against Draymond Green or Kevon Looney. This really limited the kick-outs and cuts Denver’s offense typically creates.
AG had some moments where he looked good, particularly the dunk he had in the first quarter to give the team momentum and forced the Warriors to call a timeout. But overall, if the Warriors are going to limit Jokic’s effectiveness, Aaron is going to miss out on a lot of free baskets.
He has struggled against the Warriors this season, and it was clear after game one that he still has a tough time scoring against them. In a series where they need as much offense as possible, Gordon is one of the main players that needs to contribute to help take some pressure off of Jokic. Scoring eight points is not going to get the job done, and in a game where only two players on the team get over 20 points, he must do more offensively if they want to keep up with their opponent’s firepower.
The series is only going to get tougher from here as Steph Curry will try to find his rhythm and Poole will try to keep up his momentum.
With Murray and Porter Jr. being out for the foreseeable future, the team will need Gordon to be more consistent and be the player that they expected him to be when they gave him a $92 million contract extension. We know that he can be a great player defensively, but his offense will need to be better to help this team to have a deep playoff run.