Houston Rockets: Chris Paul and Eric Gordon set to return soon

Eric Gordon and Chris Paul, the Rockets’ third and fourth leading scorers, are both expected to return to the court within the next week or two.

Despite the absence of both Chris Paul and Eric Gordon, the Houston Rockets have managed to climb the standings in recent weeks. The team has managed to win eight of the 11 games that Paul has missed. They’ve also won four of the seven games that Gordon has sat out.

Houston’s recent surge is due, in large part, to James Harden‘s stellar play. The Beard has scored at least 30 points in 16 consecutive games and has averaged 40.3 points and 9.7 assists per game over that stretch. Clint Capela has also stepped up, averaging 19.4 points and 14.8 rebounds in the last 11 games without CP3.

Since Houston is back in the playoff picture, they now have the luxury of letting Paul and Gordon sit out until they are completely healthy. On Saturday, Mike D’Antoni told Fox 26’s Mark Berman that Eric Gordon could return sometime between the middle to the end of this week. The middle of the week could put Gordon’s return on Wednesday’s game in Houston against the Brooklyn Nets.

D’Antoni also told Mark Berman that Chris Paul could return sometime next week. If Paul does see court time next week, it’ll probably be later in the week, which coincides with an earlier report that the Rockets would hold Paul out until around the end of the month.

Fortunately for Houston, the Rockets will play their next three games at home against struggling ball clubs. They’ll take on the Grizzlies, who have fallen under .500 and have the second worst record in the conference, on Monday. Then, they’ll take on the Brooklyn Nets before playing the Los Angeles Lakers, who are very unlikely to have LeBron James, on Saturday.

These are very winnable games for Houston and should give Eric Gordon a solid opportunity to regain his rhythm, assuming he is able to return by Wednesday or Saturday.

Either way, as long as James Harden is able to continue his hot streak, the Rockets will have a chance to win against any team. They proved that with recent victories against Denver, Golden State and Oklahoma City, the top three teams in the Western Conference.