Houston Rockets: Can Eric Gordon vie for Sixth Man of the Year award again?
With Chris Paul now back in the starting lineup, Eric Gordon has returned to his role as the leading man off the bench for the Houston Rockets. Does the 28-year-old shooting guard have what it takes to vie for his second consecutive Sixth Man of the Year Award this season?
Eric Gordon is in the midst of putting together his best season as a pro.
The 28-year old shooting guard out of Indiana is currently averaging 20.9 points per game in his second season with the Houston Rockets, and ranks among the league’s best shooters to start the 2017-18 regular season.
Through the first 17 games, Gordon has knocked down 56 triples from beyond the arc, placing himself alongside the likes of James Harden, Robert Covington and Stephen Curry among the league leaders in made 3-pointers.
He’s also been getting to the free throw line. Gordon is averaging nearly six trips per night to the charity stripe for the Rockets, after seeking to attack the basket more and use his newfound aggression to beat teams by driving inside.
Now, Gordon is seeking to get back acclimated to playing in his usual role with the return of Chris Paul — serving as the Rockets’ lead guard off the bench, to provide the team with more depth and pursue another Sixth Man of the Year Award — something that the 10-year veteran appears to have his sights set upon.
"“Yeah, yeah, I definitely have my chance,” Gordon told Rockets beat writer Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “It’s all about this team being successful and me continuing to play the way that I am. Then, I’ll definitely have that chance.“It’s going to go back to what we did in the preseason, trying to get more and more open shots. My mentality doesn’t change as far as being in attack mode all the time and doing what it takes to help this team win. Our second unit should be even better. It’s going to be an adjustment as [Paul] comes back, but at the end of the day, we should be a better and deeper team.”"
While the Rockets] bench has looked fairly solid to start the season defensively, Gordon could potentially vie for the league’s highest honor off the bench, should he continue to score against opposing defenses at will and serve as the offensive spark plug for Houston’s second unit.
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That bench could desperately use his assistance sooner rather than later, as it currently ranks either around or near the bottom half of the league in points, assists, and 3-point percentage to start the season.
Last year, Gordon defeated former teammate Lou Williams and Golden State Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala to take home the award after signing a four-year, $52.8 million deal to join the Rockets in the summer of 2016.
While his 3-point shooting percentage is currently below his career average of 37.7 percent, he has managed to make up for it by creating quality offensive opportunities for himself around the rim, and playing limited minutes at the point guard spot by throwing sweet dimes to Clint Capela for easy baskets.
Should Gordon seek to find his stroke alongside of Paul and James Harden, then it could likely lead to fans seeing an increase in his overall offensive efficiency.
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As the Rockets will definitely make for must-see television throughout the entire season, Eric Gordon could very well capture his second consecutive Sixth Man award