Houston Rockets: 5 goals for Eric Gordon in 2017-18

2. Repeat as Sixth Man of the Year

Despite Gordon’s inconsistent performance, he was still able to capture Sixth Man of the Year last season. This is mainly due to his incredible play in November and December and the storyline/”narrative” that followed him around for staying healthy and contributing to a winning team.

However, one could make a strong argument that Gordon wasn’t most deserving for the award due to his significant drop-off in the second half of the season. Gordon simply wasn’t the same player for that portion of the season, and his decline (along with the usual grind of the regular season) paved the way for the Rockets to struggle.

However, Lou Williams’ arrival took some of the pressure of Gordon, and voters seemed to follow the narrative surrounding his season so he was still able to win the award.

If Gordon can play more consistently and become a true knockdown shooter this season, he will once again be in the running for the award. He is returning to a traditional sixth man role and will always play alongside Harden or Paul, allowing him to get quality looks and less attention from opposing defenses.

As a result of this, Gordon can put together a season similar to his performance in the first half of last season (pre All-Star break), which would certainly be at the top of the list for candidates for Sixth Man of the Year.