Following their recent matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Orlando Magic received some bad news on the injury front. According to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel, forward Aaron Gordon has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol due to a collision with Julius Randle:
The Magic have placed Aaron Gordon in the concussion protocol, a team official said. Gordon collided with Julius Randle during last night's game and experienced concussion symptoms after the game.
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) March 9, 2018
This will be the second concussion Aaron Gordon has sustained this season alone with the first coming in early December. Gordon only missed minimal time as a result though and the Magic are hoping that remains the case this time around.
Though the Magic are well out of playoff contention and are likely to land another high lottery pick in next year’s draft, an injury is always bad news, especially when it’s to one of your foundational pieces. Gordon was pinned to be a breakout candidate last season but it simply didn’t materialize.
This season has been a different story though, as the forward has finally improved his outside stroke and made great strides in his game. With not much left to play for this season, it remains to be seen how aggressive Orlando is with Gordon’s return. The 22-year-old has averaged 18.3 points per game this season to go along with 8.4 rebounds.
