The Houston Rockets will be without guards Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon for Saturday’s game at Charlotte, according to an update from head coach Mike D’Antoni at Friday’s practice.
Westbrook will sit out due to planned maintenance on the first game of a back-to-back, meaning he will be available for Sunday’s home game versus Orlando. Gordon is out due to a sore right knee, which he seemed to re-aggravate in Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
While the Hornets (21-41) are a worse team than the Rockets (39-22) on paper, the absence of Westbrook could prove challenging to overcome, especially on the road. The former MVP and 2020 All-Star has led Houston with a 32.9 points per game scoring average since Jan. 9, all on an efficient 53.0% shooting clip from the field.
Eric Gordon is out Saturday against the Hornets with a sore knee. Russell Westbrook out for rest in first half of the back-to-back.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) March 6, 2020
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Meanwhile, Gordon’s health has become an increasing concern. He’s missed nearly half (28 of 61) of the Houston’s games this season with various injuries, and when he has played, he hasn’t looked healthy — as evidenced by his 37.1% shooting clip, including just 32.3% on 3-pointers.
In his first 13 games after returning from right knee surgery on Dec. 29, Gordon appeared to finally be healthy, scoring 20.0 points in 30.4 minutes per game on 39.8% shooting from 3-point range.
Has missed 28 of 61 games, and when he has played, only the January stretch was (relatively) healthy. It's a big deal. https://t.co/ghDksNy3ZX
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) March 6, 2020
But Gordon bruised his left shin on Jan. 27 and then bumped his right knee on Feb. 24. Those two incidents kept the 31-year-old out of the lineup for a combined four games, and beyond that, they’ve also seemed to limit his explosiveness in the games where he has played.
In his last 11 outings, Gordon is averaging just 10.9 points in 25.7 minutes on 33.9% shooting from the field and 23.4% on 3-pointers.
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Tipoff from Charlotte’s Spectrum Center is scheduled for 4 p.m. Central time on Saturday afternoon. The absence of Westbrook and Gordon will put even more of Houston’s scoring burden on James Harden, and it likely means more minutes for reserve guards Austin Rivers and Ben McLemore.
Gordon’s playing status for Sunday is not yet clear.