The Houston Rockets may have been bounced early from the playoffs this year, but they were able to put together another strong regular season in 2018-19.
There are areas they can improve upon, even though there were individuals who had immense success.
Rockets Wire is reviewing each player, starter or second unit, to recap the Rockets’ season.
Eric Gordon
The small forward / shooting guard started off 2018 pretty slow, as did the entire team. But after the All-Star break, Gordon looked like he had returned to form and he eventually was inserted back into the starting lineup.
In 68 regular season games, Gordon finished averaging 16.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He finished the season shooting 40.9 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from beyond the arc and 78.3 percent from the free-throw line. Then in the postseason, Gordon, shot 40.0 percent from three — not bad at all!
Gordon showed that he is not just a veteran playmaker who can drill shots from downtown when needed, but he really stepped up in the second half of the season by fully flexing his ability to score from all over the court.
Further, Gordon had excellent defense all year, especially on Gordon Hayward in the first round series win against the Utah Jazz.
By the time the playoffs rolled around, it was pretty obvious that after James Harden, Gordon was the second-best player on the floor for the Rockets.
Gordon produces on both ends of the floor consistently.
It is important to note that as the team looks to retool this offseason, his current contract is actually a pretty good deal as it heads into its final season: $14 million.
But, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said last week that he would like to sign Gordon to a contract extension which according to the Houston Chronicle could be worth as much as $75.6 million over four years.
It was reported in April that Gordon wants to retire in Houston.
We are giving Gordon an A- for the 2018-19 season.
