Rockets’ Eric Gordon: “I feel for sure 100 percent now”

KPRC’s Vanessa Alexander recently conducted an interview with Houston Rockets’ sharpshooter Eric Gordon, in which he discussed numerous things, including a silver lining of the NBA’s hiatus.

Although the Houston Rockets have a superstar duo in Russell Westbrook and James Harden, it’s clear they’ll need Eric Gordon in order to have any chance of winning a title. Gordon has proven his value and worth on numerous occasions, as he finished the Rockets’ last postseason series as the second-leading scorer, behind only James Harden.

During that series against the Golden State Warriors, Gordon averaged 20 points per game, while also shooting 88.9 percent from the free throw line. During the Rockets’ 2019 postseason run, EG was also the second-leading scorer, as he averaged 17.8 points per game on 40 percent from long-range, which were both postseason career-highs for the 2017 Sixth Man of the Year.

But Gordon didn’t appear to be himself this season, as he battled injuries all season. This sounds odd to say, considering how EG dropped 50 against the Utah Jazz, which led the Rockets to a victory, without Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Gordon joined KPRC’s Vanessa Alexander to discuss many things, including how the NBA’s hiatus has helped him resort back to full health.

“When you have countless games and practices, you really don’t have time to rest. This really does help, no question, and I feel for sure 100% now,” said Gordon.

This should be incredibly encouraging for Houston Rockets fans to hear, as Gordon has struggled this season, to the tune of 14.5 points on 31.9 percent from deep, which is a career-low. We saw Gordon initially try to fight through knee injuries, before opting to have surgery on his right knee.

This caused Gordon to miss six weeks due to the recovery, which was much needed. Shortly after Gordon returned, he missed three additional games due to a shin injury, which happened during his masterful 50-piece against the Jazz. If the hiatus is what it took for Gordon to get fully healthy, Rockets fans should be excited about the version of Gordon we’ll see when the league resumes.

Playing without fans

It’s been reported that the NBA is eyeing a return around the mid-June time frame, and that the league could potentially resume in a bubble-like atmosphere. This would mean the players would all have to play their games in one city, and Las Vegas has been thrown out as the ideal destination.

Regardless of whether this idea sticks or whether the league will allow teams to play their postseason games in their own arenas, it almost seems certain that the league will be playing without fans. Simply put, this would be the safest way to continue, as this will eliminate a large gathering of tens of thousands of people.

During Gordon’s interview with Alexander, he also discussed the possibility of playing without fans.

“It would be weird playing without fans, I’ll tell you that,” said Gordon. “It would almost feel like a scrimmage. And then you’re talking about playoffs with no fans, that’s just going to be weird.”

Gordon makes a good comparison by pointing out the similarity of playing without fans to having a scrimmage, which is much different than a playoff atmosphere. This is especially true for the home crowd, most notably the Houston Rockets, who deck the arena in all red shirts, and get loud whenever Gordon or any other Rockets players make a big shot.

But although it’s not necessarily ideal, it’s much better than not having Houston Rockets basketball altogether.