Houston Rockets: Eric Gordon out Monday, day-to-day after that

The Houston Rockets are fortunate that the former Sixth Man of the Year isn’t injured worse than he is. He’ll miss a game, but hopefully, he’ll be back soon.

Eric Gordon is starting to recover from a bad start to the year that saw him averaging career-lows in efficiency. The Houston Rockets guard has been solid in his two+ seasons with the team, winning Sixth Man of the Year in 2017 and being the runner-up for the award last season.

In the midst of a great game last night, however, he bumped knees and had to leave for the locker room. With the injury woes that the Rockets have had so far this year, this looked to potentially be another blow to team.

Thankfully, it looks like he’ll be avoiding anything major. Eric Gordon will miss Monday’s matchup against the Grizzlies, but then will be just day-to-day after that, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:

Eric Gordon out on Monday. Day-to-day after that. James Ennis questionable.

— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 30, 2018

Gordon’s year

While Eric Gordon hasn’t had the best statistical year of his career so far, he’s still made an impact for the Rockets. His ability to stretch the floor in a small lineup is valuable and opponents must respect his shooting from midrange all the way to well past the 3-point line.

He’s improved his percentage recently, though it still isn’t where he wants it to be. After spending much of the season shooting in the low to mid-20s% from downtown, he is up to 30.3% on the year.

Throughout his career, Eric Gordon is a much better shooter in the second half of years than the first. Take a look at the month-by-month stats on Basketball-Reference here. It normally takes him awhile to find his shot, but when he does, he is extremely dangerous. Let’s hope this season will be similar.

Austin Rivers to start, Brandon Knight to play

In Eric Gordon’s spot, it’s looking like the recently acquired Austin Rivers will start on Monday. He brings defensive intensity and shooting to the starting lineup and should be a great fit there for hopefully just one game.

Austin Rivers to start. Brandon Knight will also play, D'Antoni said. https://t.co/6p9Z239IRR

— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 30, 2018

Brandon Knight will also find some minutes in EG’s absence. He was recently sent down to Rio Grande Valley, where he had 14 points and 3 assists in one game there. He needs to find his groove, and this is a good chance to do so.

Hopefully, all of these injuries are leading up to a future where the Houston Rockets are perfectly healthy (with some guys having some extra rest) come playoff time. The team is recovering from the bad start, though, and is looking as dangerous as ever in the tough Western Conference.