Houston Rockets: Eric Gordon Could Be Even Better Next Year

Last season, everything worked in the Rockets’ favor in regards to the Eric Gordon signing.

The stellar bench player for the Rockets averaged 16.2 points per game and hit over 200 shots from beyond the arc on his way to a Sixth Man of the Year award. As good as Eric Gordon was last season, could he improve and be even better in 2017-2018? Let’s look at what will help him and what may hold him back.

Why He Could Be Better This Season

Eric Gordon was the second-best player on the Rockets for much of the season. His shooting was better than that of Steph Curry and others for the first half of the year. He was leading the league in 3-pointers made at several points. After that, he came back to earth and regressed to 38% shooting from deep.

When James Harden and Eric Gordon were on the floor at the same time, E.G. was getting open 3s almost whenever he wanted. Gordon was still electric when James was on the bench, but imagine if he played every minute with Harden.

Well, next season he could play the majority of his minutes with either Harden or Chris Paul. Mike D’Antoni has specifically said that he wants a Hall of Fame point guard on the floor at all times, and that will really help out Gordon. MDA starts talking about that at around the 45-second mark in this video.

Gordon will get more open looks than he has ever had in his NBA career. Look out for a potential repeat for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Why He May Not Improve

Eric Gordon may not see improvement for the same reason that he would improve. He will be on the court the whole time with a Hall of Fame point guard and that will take away some of his touches. He got to run the offense more with the second unit last season and that is where he drove to the paint a decent amount. This year, he will handle the ball less and be more of a spot up shooter likely.

He probably will not have worse stats than last year, but his role will probably be lesser. If he can shoot in the 40% area from 3, he would make a huge difference for the Rockets. Hopefully, Gordon can continue to stay healthy like he did last season.

What do you think about these takes? Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter. We’d love to start a discussion! Stay tuned to Space City Scoop for the latest information about the Rockets!

*All stats via Basketball-Reference*

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