The Houston Rockets could get reserve guard Eric Gordon back from injury as soon as this weekend, according to a new report.
Gordon, who has been out since Nov. 13 after undergoing surgery on his right knee, was initially given a six-week timetable for his recovery. This Wednesday, when the Rockets visit Golden State as part of the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule of nationally televised games, is exactly six weeks from the procedure date.
However, with the Rockets (21-9) having won four straight games and 10 of 13 overall, there wouldn’t seem to be much incentive to rush Gordon back — especially against a Warriors team that enters Wednesday at 7-24 and with the worst record in the Western Conference.
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Gordon is traveling with the Rockets on their current four-game West Coast road trip, and the team had previously left the door open to his return during it. But there’s no need to push the envelope at the moment, considering how they’re playing and the opponent.
That could change this weekend, however, when the Rockets have back-to-back games starting with Saturday night at home vs. Brooklyn and continuing Sunday night at New Orleans. With starting guard Russell Westbrook likely to miss the second game as part of his maintenance plan on back-to-backs, that’s when head coach Mike D’Antoni could really use Gordon’s services to help fill those minutes.
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Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, it sounds as if that could be the plan. On Tuesday, he reported:
He won’t be back in time to play the Warriors on Wednesday in one of the league’s showcase games and the Rockets’ first appearance in the Warriors’ new Chase Center home.
Yet, there still could be something that would feel right about the timing of Gordon’s approaching return.
With the Rockets to follow their road trip with a back-to-back games, Gordon could play for the first time since his Nov. 13 surgery on Sunday in New Orleans. That’s where he played for the last time before his surgery, offering a chance to pick up literally where he left off in his best game of the season.
Eric Gordon’s impending return leads to “powerful” expectations for Rockets https://t.co/vYKiCd3j36
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 24, 2019
Gordon had 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting (54.5%) in a Houston victory at New Orleans on Nov. 11, including 4-of-7 (57.1%) from three-point range.
Feigen clarifies later in the story that the final return schedule has yet to be set for Gordon, who turns 31 years old Wednesday. Whenever he returns, D’Antoni has already said that Gordon will play off the bench with an initial minutes restriction.
Regardless of role, the top priority for the Rockets is making sure Gordon is healthy after his procedure, since the knee problem likely contributed to Gordon’s much worse than expected start to the 2019-20 season.
In nine games in October and November, the 6-foot-3 guard shot 30.9% overall and 28.4% from three-point range. Both figures are well below the 41.4% and 36.4% percentages logged over Gordon’s first three seasons in Houston, and his points per game average dipped from 16.8 over his initial three years to 10.9 this season.
Now in his fourth season with the Rockets, Gordon has averaged 16.6 points (36.1% on three-pointers) in 31.2 minutes per game. He won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award back in 2016-17, his first season with the franchise, before starting most games in 2018-19 at small forward. However, D’Antoni appears set this season on starting Danuel House Jr. there, which makes Houston younger, taller, and more athletic.
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Gordon signed a multi-year contract extension in September, which keeps him under contract through at least the 2022-23 season. The timing of that deal makes him ineligible to be traded this season.
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