A Polished Pelican: The Rebirth of Eric Gordon
By Mike Delayo
He has the worst contract in the NBA.
Why didn’t Dell Demps let him follow his heart to Phoenix?
He can never get healthy.
He will never be the same guy he was in Los Angeles.
Over the course of four seasons since the end of the Chris Paul era, no one has endured more criticism and scrutiny than Eric Gordon.
Many fans have been dreading the day Gordon picks up his $15 million option for next season and hinders New Orleans from making a move in free agency. No man in the right mind would turn down that much money, and given Gordon’s disappointing tenure, he will probably be no different. The inability to trade the monstrosity of a deal was equally frustrating.
Amidst all of this disappointment and anger towards this unfulfilled player, a silver lining has emerged. Since his return from a shoulder injury, Gordon has been good. Really good.
Jan 28, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard
Eric Gordon(10) shoots over Denver Nuggets guard
Arron Afflalo(10) during the fourth quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Nuggets defeated the Pelicans 93-85. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Even though he was healthy to start the season, Gordon did not look right at all. Quite frankly, I did not expect any of his catch and shoot opportunities to go in just because he had not shown the ability to make them.
In November before going out of commission Gordon was converting on 34.2% of catch and shoot threes, and these shots accounted for 35% of his shot total. High volume plus low conversion is a recipe for disaster.
A hefty part of his revival can be credited to his insane conversion rate on these same shots. In January 30% of Gordon’s shots were catch and shoot threes. This time around, he converted on 55.8% of these shots.
That was higher than the 55.3% sharpshooter Kyle Korver, who is currently enjoying the best shooting season in history, managed to put up in the same month.
These shots are almost 75% of Korver’s offense, so his sustained success is obviously more impressive. But that does not change the fact that Gordon put on a show from the three point line in his first month back from injury.
I like to believe that the reason for this is the undershirt Gordon has been wearing to stabilize his shoulder since his return. His shooting form has looked smoother than ever with this shirt, and the results thus far have not lied.
Sure there is probably a lot more to it because he had a lot of time to work on his shot. But I think it is more fun to say that part Eric Gordon’s explosive month was due to a black shirt.
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The second factor of Gordon’s triumphant return to the court is his playmaking ability. Gordon has been averaging 5 assists per game since his return to the floor, a number he has not even approached since his final season with the Clippers (4.4 apg).
What makes it better is that while he is racking up the assists, he is also taking care of the ball. His 2.15 assist to turnover ratio is not stellar, but for a non-point guard it is pretty good. Jrue Holiday is having a career year in this department, and he is sporting a 2.95.
With Holiday being out for an extended period of time, Gordon has really stepped up his playmaking ability. After Monday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, Gordon has gone 9 straight games with at least 5 assists, including a 10 assist performance against the Lakers.
These games are starting to become more and more common, a sign that Gordon can still thrive as a secondary and possibly primary ball handler for an elite offense.
The last thing worth pointing out Gordon’s physicality. When he was at full strength in Los Angeles, Gordon threw caution to the wind in his drives to the basket. He was drawing fouls, and although he took some ill advised shots in the process, he still managed to produce.
Chris Paul, although smaller than Gordon, was a very drive oriented player in his early years. After his knee injury, his willingness to bang down low was diminished. Paul is still a very special player and was able to compensate in other areas, but Gordon’s really revolved around using his wide upper body to create contact.
I definitely thought that we had seen the last of this explosive version of Gordon, and would have been perfectly fine with the catch and shoot sniper version. However, the old Gordon seems to have crawled back into the spot light. His first step has looked great at times, leaving his defender in the dust. More importantly, as seen below, he has rediscovered the courage to go all out in the paint.
He attacked DeAndre Jordan, a man renowned for his size and toughness, again and again against the Clippers. His ability to slash opens up easy passing lanes to his teammates. If the defense respects the drive too much, Gordon can knock down the triple.
He even kicked off February with another 20 pint, 7 assist performance. The game of Eric Gordon is coming together right before our eyes, and although it has only been a month, I am willing to bet that as long as he stays on the floor (and wears that black undershirt), he can sustain his recent success.