D’Antoni: Rockets to loosen minutes restriction for Eric Gordon

Eric Gordon is expected to play 30 to 33 minutes against Philadelphia — up from a prior minutes cap of 25 after his return from injury.

In his third game back from knee surgery, the Houston Rockets are easing the minutes restriction on guard Eric Gordon.

Speaking in his pregame media session before Friday night’s home game versus Philadelphia, head coach Mike D’Antoni said Gordon would likely play 30 to 33 minutes against the 76ers. In Gordon’s prior games since returning, he was limited to approximately 25 minutes.

Gordon averaged between 31 and 32 minutes per game in each of his first three seasons in Houston, meaning the latest minutes target is effectively the 31-year-old’s normal use on a per-game basis.

In two games this week since returning Sunday in New Orleans, Gordon is averaging 16 points in 24.2 minutes per game. The 6-foot-3 reserve guard is shooting 52.6% from the field and 58.3% on 3-pointers.

This week’s numbers are much improved relative to Gordon’s nine games this season before the procedure, in which he scored 10.9 points in 29.4 minutes per game. His efficiency was especially dreadful, with shooting percentages of 30.9% overall and 28.4% from 3-point range.

When asked earlier in the week about Gordon’s health, D’Antoni expressed optimism that right knee arthroscopy had fixed the problem.

“He’s going to be the Eric of old, before he was injured halfway through last season,” D’Antoni said. “He’ll be explosive.”

In the 2019 NBA playoffs last spring, Gordon was arguably Houston’s third-best player after James Harden and Chris Paul. In 37.3 minutes per game, Gordon averaged 17.8 points on 44.7% shooting overall and 40.0% on 3-pointers, and his on-ball defense was especially valuable against the likes of Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and Golden State’s Klay Thompson.

In 32 games to start this season, Gordon missed 23 of them and was well below his standard in the other nine, likely due to the knee problem. Yet, the Rockets still managed to win 22 of those 32 games — good for a pace of more than 56 wins for a full season, and enough to keep them within a half-game of Denver for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference.

Assuming Gordon is now healthy, the Rockets (23-11) are effectively adding a player who was their third-best last postseason to the 2019-20 squad that was already quite competitive in the West this season.

The two-game sample since Gordon’s return remains small, but it’s a key source of optimism for the team as the Rockets enter 2020.

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