Rockets guard Eric Gordon had one of his least efficient seasons in 2019-20, largely owing to a knee problem that traced back to the prior season. That injury forced him to miss half of Houston’s regular-season games, and it led him to have a surgical procedure in late 2019.
Then, less than three weeks before the 2020 playoffs, Gordon sprained an ankle and couldn’t return until only a few days before Game 1.
Even when the 6-foot-3 guard did play last season, he shot a career-low 36.9% from the field (31.7% on 3-pointers), and Gordon’s health issues seemed to cause the decline in performance. For his career, the 2017 champion of the NBA’s Three-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend is a 42.5% shooter, and at a 37.0% clip from 3-point range.
But heading into the 2020-21 season, Gordon says he’s finally healthy, and the 31-year-old is ready to make amends. In a new interview on The Ashley Nevel Show, Gordon set this ambitious goal for himself:
Next season, I need to get back to being easily top five in most 3s made. My goal is to shoot over 40% next year while being top five in total makes. I would love to get back to that. I’ve done it for years. It can happen. I’ve done it, and I just need to get right back to it. That will be my main focus.
It all boils down to team chemistry, and me staying healthy. The past year or two, I’ve had minor knick-knack injuries, but I won’t have to worry about that. I’ve just got to stay laser-focused and stay in shape, and it’ll come.
Since joining the Rockets before the 2016-17 season, Gordon has averaged 16.5 points in 30.9 minutes per game. On average, he has attempted 8.8 3-pointers per game, making 3.1 of them (35.7%). Adjusting for volume, that certainly makes Gordon a good 3-point shooter, but not an elite one — at least not statistically.
However, there is at least some evidence suggesting that a higher clip is possible. In Gordon’s final three seasons in New Orleans from 2013-14 though 2015-16, Gordon shot 40.9% from 3-point range — with an average of 2.1 makes and 5.1 attempts per game. His increased volume in Houston’s 3-point heavy system explains much of the slippage, but Gordon seems to believe that he’s capable of returning to his earlier shooting accuracy while still maintaining the higher volume.
It’s clearly an ambitious target. But for a Rockets team determined to contend for the 2020-21 NBA title and without any draft picks or salary cap room to upgrade the roster, that type of internal growth from existing players could be their most realistic route to taking the next step.
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