And #NeverForget my friends that Kent Bazemore turned us down, setting us up to get Ego. The Morey regime has a long line of dodging bullets.
When we first got Gordon I was expecting a solid secondary scorer if healthy at a decent contract. Never did I expect him to be this much of a lights out shooter. I was a big fan of Gordon when he first came into the league, but kind of forgot about him because of injuries/mediocre teams removing him from basketball relevance. I remembered he could stroke it, but damn he is putting on some world class shooting this year. The fact that he's been this efficient while averaging close to 9 3's a game (many of which are not wide-open catch and shoot attempts, mind you) is crazy. That puts him right up there with Steph and Klay in terms of shooting, as he is much more versatile than other 3-point specialists in the league. I've always been a fan of Morey's analytical approach, and thus have been a proponent of shooting a ton of trey-balls. Its a more efficient shot. I just never understood why Morey would enact such a 3-heavy attack without actually acquiring elite 3-point shooters. The addition/emergence of high-percentage shooters in Gordon, Anderson, and Dekker have not only made the offense more efficient, it has completely opened up the inside for Harden to dissect. The spacing allows for all the Capela/Harrell oops, and it has been a awesome to watch.
For most of Gordon's career he played on bad teams, and he didn't have a lot of great secondary options or was injured. With this team he's just out there gunning, MDA has turned him loose and given him the green light and he has teammates to take pressure off too. Ryan Anderson said the other day that this is the most fun he's had playing in the NBA and I think the same is probably true for Gordon.
I think in one year, the Rockets have completely changed their outlook to upcoming free agents. From "Harden is a ballhog" to "Harden is completely unselfish" and "if you can shoot from deep and want your share of shots...come to Houston." I think this team is about to become a threat, not just this year, but for many years to come.
Love that, and this is probably the most fun I've had watching a basketball team in a long while. Love the good vibes all around this year for the Rockets after the nightmare that was 2015-2016.
Definitely. Harden seems to be popular around the NBA, and has proven this year he can be great to play with. While I don't think every NBA star would mesh well with Harden, Harden and D'Antoni have taken several players to new levels this year.
Curry's illegal screen squad is no longer with the team this year and his shooting is down as a result of it. Bogut was basically an offensive lineman for the Dubs and they're missing him, Ezeli and Speights to some extent. Those were the toughest dudes on the squad outside of Iggy, and they're all gone now. GS is still like deadly and stuff man, but they're just not as deadly as they use to be in dudes opinion, Rockets could knock them off this year and it wouldn't be a huge upset as it would have been in the last two years.
If you follow the rockets on social media, you'll notice that 90% of the time wherever you see harden practicing, Gordon is right there with him. Dudes probably never practiced so much. I don't think it's coincidence that he's shooting lights out now.
Eric Gordon is everything Steph Curry wishes to be. BTW, Curry has never been the same after the DMo butt sweat destroyed his career. Got to slip DMo in this thread.
I'm happy he continues to shoot threes, because everytime he goes to the basket I pray he doesnt injure himself. So far so good
Well it shouldn't be a surprise, people just have this perception that he's just a shooter. All year I've said that he's been good. Hope everyone recognises this now and won't ever compare it to Thornton's defense ever again!
If you pay attention he was trying to get both base and horford. He was trying to improve chemistry after last year. I imagine horford was the target and bringing in baze was kind of like wanting the tandem of teammates. Horford turned us down and the next best pairing of talent is ryno and ego.
And his shot is more pleasing to the eye. Curry's shot looks like he is just flicking up like an 8 year old with no follow-through and an often off-blance landing. Gordon is quick release without sacrificing the fundamental form of the jump shot. Thank you Eric Gordon! Now we dont have to have a bunch of kids pushing up bricks and chewing on mouthpieces.
It's now official. Eric Splash Gordon is the #1 3PT Shot Maker in the NBA... - EG has 112 made 3PT's on 43.6% shooting - Steph Curry has 110 made 3PT's on 40.4% shooting http://stats.nba.com/leaders/#!?Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular Season&StatCategory=FG3M&PerMode=Totals
