(Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images)
The Denver Nuggets are now two wins away from their first-ever NBA championship, and much of the attention is focused on Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, their two stars.
But they have several key role players, one of whom is forward Aaron Gordon.
His defense, occasional 3-point shooting, and strong finishing around the rim have complemented Jokic and Murray very well, especially so far in the NBA Finals.
Gordon described how exactly he complements his two star teammates, via Ryan Blackburn.
Aaron Gordon, describing his role in the Jokić-Murray two-man game with passion and a smile:
“I get to play the dunker. So I just work the baseline, catch alley-oops or dump-off passes, and I get to bang out. It’s awesome!” pic.twitter.com/X9CFO45PQW
— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) June 8, 2023
In the regular season, he averaged 16.3 points a game while shooting 56.4 percent overall and 34.7 percent from 3-point range.
His scoring average has fallen a bit in the playoffs, but he has improved his 3-point shooting accuracy to 37.5 percent.
In Denver’s 109-94 Game 3 win over the Miami Heat, he shot 5-of-10 from the field and contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
After the Heat overcame a big deficit to take Game 2, there was some concern that the Nuggets would be in trouble with the next two contests taking place in South Florida.
But the Nuggets looked impressive enough at times in Wednesday’s contest that now the pressure and concern have shifted over to Miami.
Jimmy Butler and company are facing a virtual must-win contest in Game 4 on Friday, and if they lose, they face the prospect of losing the NBA championship in Game 5 back in Colorado.
Gordon has a history of containing Butler well, and although Butler had 28 points on 11-of-24 field-goal shooting in Game 3, it came after two subpar shooting performances to start the series.
The post Aaron Gordon Describes His New Role appeared first on The Cold Wire.