Three Positives and three negatives from the Houston Rockets’ first six games

Houston Rockets positive #2: Eric Gordon

Don’t call it a comeback but Eric Gordon is back to the form that Rockets’ fans had grown accustomed to before he fell off of a cliff last season. Over the course of the 2019-20 season, Gordon endured injury and ineffective play to post the worst shooting numbers of his career.

He bricked his way to a 36.9-percent shooting percentage from the field and 31.7-percent from 3-point range. With a four-year $72 million extension set to kick in this season the Rockets needed Gordon to rebound in a big way or else they would be saddled with one of the worst contracts in the NBA.

Finally healthy and operating in an offense that suits his skill set better, Gordon is shooting 43.9-percent from the field. What’s driving his incredible turnaround is a scorching 76.5-percent shooting on 2-pointers and 88.9-percent finishing at the rim.

Gordon is still struggling from 3-point range, hitting only 30-percent of his threes, but expect him to improve in this area as he cools off at the rim. Gordon’s 115 offensive rating is the best of his career and his 19.5 points per game are the most he has averaged since the 2011-12 season.

All things considered, Gordon’s comeback season has gotten off to a rousing success as his situation and health have improved. He likely won’t keep this up the whole season but he’s been good enough over the first six games that the Rockets won’t have to treat him and his contract as a sunk cost.

Next: Negative #2