Tag: Eric Gordon

All-Star vote: The players who always do better with fans than peers

For the fourth year in a row, the NBA has disclosed the vote for All-Star starters of fans, media and players. Since we now have the data of where each player ranked in the final results, we decided to look for patterns. For example, which players …

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For the fourth year in a row, the NBA has disclosed the vote for All-Star starters of fans, media and players. Since we now have the data of where each player ranked in the final results, we decided to look for patterns.

For example, which players do better with fans than with their NBA peers?

We found out 16 guys have ranked higher in the fan vote than in the players vote every year since 2017. Only two on the list have made the All-Star Game and they are both members of the world-beating Golden State Warriors: Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Kind of makes you go ‘Hmmm’, right?

The largest disparity between player and fan vote happens with Jordan Clarkson, though, which was kind of unexpected.

For more details, you can check the gallery above. All rankings based on position and conference.

James Harden returns to form as undersized Rockets outshoot Mavs

James Harden (35) had his best 3-point shooting night in weeks, and he also grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds as the Rockets won at home.

Houston star James Harden had his best rebounding game of the season and his top 3-point shooting performance in weeks as the undersized Rockets held off Kristaps Porziņģis and Dallas Mavericks in a 128-121 victory (box score) Friday night at Toyota Center.

It’s the fourth win in six games for the host Rockets (30-18), who jumped Dallas (29-19) in the Western Conference standings with the victory. Harden led the way with a game-high 35 points and 16 rebounds.

With starting center Clint Capela again out with a heel injury, Houston coach Mike D’Antoni went back to his small lineup by starting usual power forward P.J. Tucker at center, and then inserting Danuel House Jr. to Tucker’s vacated spot. Thabo Sefolosha spelled both off the bench.

The Rockets are now 2-0 with the undersized House-Tucker front line in Capela’s absence, having also won on Monday in Utah.

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On Monday, reserve seven-footer Isaiah Hartenstein played a few first-half minutes. On Friday, he did not, making the Rockets the first team since 1963 to play an entire NBA game with no player above 6-foot-6.

Given that dynamic, the 7-foot-3 Porziņģis took advantage with 35 points and 12 rebounds. Overall, Dallas won the rebounding battle, 52-37.

But the added floor spacing paid major dividends for Houston on the other end, with the Rockets making 21 of 45 shots (46.7%) from 3-point range as a team. Of Harden’s 35 points, over half of them came courtesy of a 6-of-14 showing (42.9%) on 3-pointers.

Harden entered the Dallas game shooting just 22.9% on 3-pointers during his recent 10-game slump. Friday’s result is just the second time in the last 11 games for the former MVP and the league’s current scoring leader to exceed 35% from behind the arc.

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The floor spacing may have also helped Harden and the Rockets avoid turnovers, with Houston recording only six as a team for the entire game.

In addition to his shooting on offense, Harden also helped Houston overcome its lack of size on defense with a season-high 16 rebounds and a game-high four steals. Of those 16 rebounds, 14 were defensive.

Harden’s final 3-pointer iced the game late in the fourth quarter, putting the Rockets up by seven points with just over a minute left.

Russell Westbrook had 32 points and a team-high nine assists. Of the 128 points, over half came between Houston’s All-Star backcourt, which had 67 combined. Eric Gordon made his second consecutive start at small forward and added 17 points, including three 3-pointers.

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The Mavs were missing star guard Luka Doncic, who was out with an ankle injury and is expected to miss several more games. Backcourt mate Tim Hardaway Jr. made four of the Mavs’ 14 total 3-pointers, but that wasn’t enough to keep up with the hot-shooting Rockets.

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The Rockets return to action Sunday afternoon for the second game of a three-game homestand. In a 1 p.m. local time tip-off, the Rockets will host prized rookie Zion Williamson and the suddenly surging New Orleans Pelicans (20-29), who have now won three straight games.

Sunday’s game will be nationally televised on ABC.

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Westbrook’s 39 in vain as Blazers top Rockets in road trip finale

Playing their third road game in four nights, the Rockets (29-18) weren’t competitive after the first quarter in a 125-112 loss at Portland.

Russell Westbrook scored 30 or more points for the eighth time in his last nine games, but it wasn’t enough for the Houston Rockets in a 125-112 loss on Wednesday night at Portland (box score).

Westbrook’s 39 points came on 16-of-29 (55.2%) shooting from the field, and he also had 10 rebounds and six assists.

Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers (21-27) in the victory with 36 points on blistering 6-of-12 efficiency (50.0%) from 3-point range. He also had 11 assists and 10 rebounds, making for the first triple-double of his career.

Former Rockets forward Trevor Ariza tied his 2019-20 season high with 21 points on 9-of-13 (64.3%) shooting. Overall, the Trail Blazers had six different players with double figures in scoring.

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For the game, Portland shot 51.7% from the field and 36.1% on 3-pointers against a lethargic and overmatched Houston defense. The Trail Blazers outscored the Rockets in the second quarter, 41-24, and never looked back. From there, the home team never trailed in the second half.

With the defeat, the Rockets (29-18) finished their four-game Western Conference road trip at 2-2. They will now play five of seven games in Houston leading into the mid-February All-Star break.

Houston led by six points after the first quarter and by as many as 12 early, but tired legs seemed to catch up with them on their fourth game in a fourth city over six nights, and a third in four nights.

James Harden (bruised left thigh) and Clint Capela (right heel contusion) returned after missing Monday’s win in Utah due to injury, but neither starter quite looked like his usual self. Harden scored 15 points on 5-of-18 (27.8%) shooting, continuing his recent slump, while Capela had just two points and seven rebounds in only 17 minutes.

With Capela struggling, Portland outrebounded the Rockets by a commanding 50-39 margin in Wednesday’s game.

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Ben McLemore scored 17 points in a new bench role, making 5-of-9 shots (55.6%) from 3-point range. Eric Gordon replaced McLemore in the starting lineup after scoring 50 points Monday, but Gordon had just eight points in Portland on 2-of-10 (20%) shooting from the field.

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The Rockets return to action Friday night with a home game against the Dallas Mavericks, with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central from Toyota Center. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Both the Rockets and Mavs will enter Friday’s game with identical 29-18 records, tied for No. 5 in the Western Conference playoff race.

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Rockets start Eric Gordon over Ben McLemore at small forward

Coming off a 50-point game, the Rockets are staying with Eric Gordon as a starter — even with both James Harden and Russell Westbrook back.

Coming off a career-high 50-point game, the Houston Rockets are keeping Eric Gordon in the starting lineup for the time being.

Gordon started at small forward in Wednesday’s game at Portland alongside the usual backcourt of Russell Westbrook and James Harden. In that role, Gordon replaced Ben McLemore — who had started nine consecutive games for the Rockets since Jan. 11.

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Gordon started Monday’s victory at Utah, when he had 50, but that was when both Westbrook (rest) and Harden (bruised left thigh) were out.

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Now 31 years old, the 6-foot-3 Gordon started 53 regular-season games for the Rockets in the 2018-19 season and all 11 playoff games as part of a three-guard lineup with Harden and Chris Paul.

This year, the Rockets began the season starting 6-foot-6 Danuel House Jr. at small forward, who offers more traditional size, athleticism, and defensive versatility at the position.

Earlier this month, however, House lost that job to McLemore — partly due to a shooting slump, and also because bringing House off the bench makes it easier to manage P.J. Tucker‘s minutes at power forward.

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Based on that change, the transition from McLemore to Gordon would seem to be much smoother for the starting lineup and the team’s rotations, since the 6-foot-3 McLemore has a similar body type.

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Head coach Mike D’Antoni did not indicate whether the move was permanent, but it’s easy to see why they would want to ride the hot hand and play Gordon as many minutes as possible. In 13 games since returning from knee surgery on Dec. 29, Gordon entered Wednesday averaging 20.0 points in 30.4 minutes on 39.8% 3-point shooting.

In his last four outings, including the 50-point game, Gordon had averaged 30.3 points on 53% shooting overall and 47.6% on 3-pointers.

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With Houston’s four-game road trip complete after Wednesday’s game in Portland, the Rockets will be home for five of their next seven contests heading into February’s All-Star break. They begin that home swing with a 6:30 p.m. game Friday against the rival Dallas Mavericks.

Eric Gordon hadn’t scored 40-plus points since his rookie year

Eric Gordon achieved a milestone he hadn’t earned since his rookie year during his career night on Monday.

Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon had a career night Monday in leading his team to a win over the Utah Jazz, and in the process, he achieved a milestone he hadn’t earned since his rookie year.

According to Justin Kubatko of Stat Muse, Gordon has the longest streak of days in between 40-point games with 4,021 days. Gordon scored a career-high 50 points against the Jazz, and he hadn’t scored 40-plus since Jan. 23, 2009, when he had 41 points playing with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Gordon having one of the best games of his career shows how the Rockets can be more than James Harden and Russell Westbrook shooting a majority of the shots.

This season, Gordon ranks third in field goal attempts per game (13.7), right behind Harden and Westbrook. Gordon has played in 13 games since returning from knee surgery, and in those 13 games, he has averaged 20.0 points. Gordon is the Rockets’ third-leading scorer, averaging 16.3 points per game.

With Gordon being the clear third option, performances like these reinforce how the Rockets’ offense can be productive and have multiple players be a threat to score.

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Eric Gordon scores career-high 50 as shorthanded Rockets stun Jazz

Eric Gordon scored a career-high 50, and the Rockets won at Utah despite James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Clint Capela all being out.

The Houston Rockets were without three starters and two former MVPs on Monday night for the second half of a road back-to-back, all against a Utah Jazz squad that had won 19 of its last 21 games.

With a gritty and determined effort on both sides of the court, the scrappy and shorthanded Rockets found a way to win, anyway.

Eric Gordon scored a career-high 50 points in the absence of James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Clint Capela, and the undermanned Rockets (29-17) won in Salt Lake City, 126-117 (box score). It was the first of three meetings between the Western Conference rivals this season.

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The 6-foot-3 Gordon connected on an astonishing 14-of-22 shots (63.6%) from the field, and 6-of-11 (54.5%) on 3-pointers.

The Jazz (32-14), who lost to the Rockets in a pair of five-game series in both the 2018 and 2019 NBA playoffs, were led by 36 points from Donovan Mitchell and 30 by newcomer Bojan Bogdanovic.

The Rockets led for the majority of the game, and they set the tone early in part due to an unorthodox call from head coach Mike D’Antoni.

Rather than replace Capela with a more traditional center such as Isaiah Hartenstein or Tyson Chandler, the Rockets started 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker in the middle. That forced Utah’s defensive anchor, Rudy Gobert, to abandon the paint at times and defend out to the 3-point line.

That floor spacing opened driving lanes for the likes of Gordon and Austin Rivers, who set a 2019-20 season high of his own with 21 points.

Danuel House Jr., who started at power forward with Tucker sliding to center, also scored 21 points — but his biggest contribution was a career-high 11 rebounds. Despite going smaller, Houston still outrebounded Utah, 40-38, led by 11 rebounds by House and 10 from Tucker.

Thus, the switch to a smaller lineup paid off for the Rockets offensively without compromising them too much on the defensive end.

In the absence of three starters, veteran Thabo Sefolosha scored 9 points in a season-high 26 minutes on 4-of-7 shooting (57.1%) off the bench. He also provided steady defense, allowing the Rockets to continue spacing the floor at all positions even in the 16 minutes that Tucker sat.

House and Rivers each set 2019-20 season highs with 46 and 41 minutes, respectively, allowing D’Antoni and the Rockets to overcome a short rotation with three starters out due to injuries or rest.

The Rockets have now won three of four games overall, including a 2-1 start to their current four-game road trip. They will finish up the road swing on Wednesday against the Trail Blazers before a stretch with five of seven games at home leading into February’s All-Star break.

Westbrook (rest) and Harden (bruised thigh) are expected back for that game, while the status of Capela (bruised heel) is less clear. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. Central time from Portland.

Rockets list Capela as doubtful, upgrade Harden to questionable

Houston upgraded the status of James Harden (thigh) for Monday while downgrading Clint Capela (heel). Russell Westbrook (rest) is out.

There was good news and bad news for the Rockets in Monday’s injury report preceding Houston’s game later in the day at Utah.

The positive development is that the playing status of superstar guard James Harden, who had previously been listed as doubtful for Monday’s game, was upgraded to questionable. Harden is dealing with a left thigh bruise after a collision during Friday’s game in Minnesota.

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Harden leads the NBA with a historic average of 36.1 points per game, and the Rockets could certainly use Monday that with backcourt co-star Russell Westbrook out for maintenance. Westbrook played Sunday in Denver and is scheduled to sit out one game of all back-to-backs this season as part of his recovery from offseason knee surgery.

Reserve guard Eric Gordon will presumably start in Westbrook’s place.

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The bad news, however, is that center Clint Capela is now doubtful for Monday with a right heel contusion. Capela has had on-again, off-again issues with that heel since late December, and head coach Mike D’Antoni said in early January that back-to-backs were tough on him.

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In the 2019-20 season, Capela is averaging 14.2 points (62.8% shooting), 13.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 33.2 minutes per game as Houston’s starting center. His per-game rebounding total ranks fourth in the league.

If Capela sits out, 21-year-old seven-footer Isaiah Hartenstein would likely start in his place.

Final word on the status of Harden and Capela will likely come when D’Antoni meets with the media about 90 minutes before Monday night’s game, which tips off at 8 p.m. Central time.

On paper, it looks like an very challenging game for the Rockets (28-17), even if both players in question were to play. Houston will be without Westbrook and on night two of a road back-to-back at high altitude, while the Jazz (32-13) are rested and have won 19 of their last 21 games.

Westbrook scores 32, but Harden-less Rockets fall short in Denver

Russell Westbrook led Houston with 32 points and 7 assists. But with James Harden out (bruised thigh), it wasn’t enough to win at Denver.

There was a basketball game for the Houston Rockets on Sunday in Denver, even if the day will be remembered most for the intense emotions following the shocking death of NBA icon Kobe Bryant.

At 41 years old, Bryant died with eight others — including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna — in a tragic helicopter crash near Los Angeles, where he played for 20 seasons with the Lakers. In those years from 1996 through 2016, Bryant was a five-time NBA champion; a two-time MVP and scoring champion; and an 18-time All-Star.

Bryant is survived by his wife, Vanessa, and three other daughters.

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As for Sunday’s game, which reserve guard Austin Rivers said was tough to play, the Rockets (28-17) lost to the Denver Nuggets (32-14) by a 117-110 margin (box score). Houston had a nine-point lead after the first quarter and led by two at halftime, but they were unable to hold on.

Russell Westbrook led the way with 32 points and seven assists, but the Rockets were shorthanded with James Harden (bruised thigh) out injured. Unfortunately, Harden is also doubtful for Monday’s game at Utah, which Westbrook is already set to miss since he played Sunday.

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Sunday’s loss was tough for the Rockets in the Western Conference standings. The result puts them three games behind the Nuggets in the loss column, and it also allowed Denver to tie the season series between the teams at two games apiece.

Had the Rockets won, they would have trailed the Nuggets by just one game in the loss column, along with possession of the tiebreaker. Now, they’re three back, and Denver is well positioned to have any eventual tiebreaker, since the next criteria is conference record. At the moment, Denver has seven losses to West teams, compared to 13 for Houston.

Eric Gordon (19), Ben McLemore (15), Rivers (13), and Danuel House Jr. also scored in double figures for the Rockets.

Meanwhile, reigning All-Star center Nikola Jokic was the clear star for the Nuggets with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Without Westbrook and most likely without Harden, the Rockets now travel to Utah for the second half of the back-to-back. Houston will be significant underdogs versus the Jazz (32-13), who have won 19 of their last 21 games. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. Central time on Monday,

Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon set season highs in Rockets’ road win

Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 45 points and Eric Gordon had 27 off the bench as the Rockets (28-16) won Friday at Minnesota.

Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon set new 2019-20 season highs with 45 and 27 points, respectively, as the Houston Rockets withstood another sluggish night from James Harden to win at Minnesota, 131-124.

Harden scored just 12 points on 3-of-13 shooting (23.1%), extending his recent slump. But it didn’t matter Friday, since Westbrook scored 45 on 59.3% shooting, while Gordon added his 27 on six made 3-pointers.

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It’s the second straight win for the Rockets (28-16) after a four-game losing streak, while the Wolves (15-30) lost their eigth straight game.

Westbrook also had 10 assists and six rebounds in Friday’s victory (box score), making it the eighth game of his storied career with at least 45 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds in a game. That’s tied with Harden and Oscar Robertson for the most in NBA history.

Westbrook regularly attacked the rim against Minnesota, drawing 13 free throws and making them all. He did not attempt a single 3-pointer in the game, and he’s shot just one time from 3-point range in his last four games, combined. Considering Westbrook is shooting just 23.5% on 3-pointers this season, that dramatic change in his shot chart has helped make him a much more efficient player during his recent surge.

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Harden limped some in the second half after bruising his thigh in a collision with Minnesota big man Karl-Anthony Towns, though his struggles in Friday’s game predated any injury.

Towns, a former All-Star, led the Wolves with 30 points and 12 rebounds. However, Clint Capela held his own on the interior for the Rockets with 18 points (75.1% shooting), nine rebounds, and five blocks in his 34 minutes.

Of Houston’s 11 made 3-pointers in 32 attempts (34.4%), 10 came from bench players. Gordon led the way by tying his season-high with six made treys, but Danuel House Jr. and Austin Rivers also had key contributions with a combined four made 3-pointers in just seven attempts (57.1%). Despite playing just three reserves, the Rockets had 51 bench points.

The Rockets return to action Sunday afternoon in Denver, with Houston having an opportunity to clinch the season series and any potential tiebreaker against the Nuggets (31-14). It’s unclear if Westbrook will play Sunday, since the Rockets also play Monday night at Utah (31-13), and the former MVP has yet to play in both ends of a back-to-back all season.

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In new series, Rockets’ players respond to mean Twitter posts

Watch as Houston Rockets players including Austin Rivers, P.J. Tucker, Russell Westbrook, and Eric Gordon respond to mean tweets.

In a lighthearted move, the Houston Rockets have released the second episode of a new “Rockets Mean Tweets” series, in which current players listen and respond to harsh comments said about them on Twitter.

The series is based on the popular segment by late-night television host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! show.

Several lines were addressed by current Rockets players in the team’s latest episode, which was released on Thursday’s off day.

For instance, reserve guard Austin Rivers was asked to respond to this harsh comment from a Twitter user:

I didn’t think the Houston Rockets could possibly get more annoying. Then they signed Austin Rivers.

Meanwhile, veteran defensive ace P.J. Tucker weighed in on this assessment of his game and personality:

P.J. Tucker plays like a guy who is perfectly willing and able to murder someone on the court, but eats pancakes with the delicate touch and palette of a connoisseur of fine wines.

Guards Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon are also featured in the second episode of the series. The first episode, which was released in late November 2019, can be viewed below.

As for basketball, the Rockets (27-16) return to the court Friday night at Minnesota (15-29). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central time.

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