The Houston Rockets are only two days into their Florida training camp leading up to the NBA’s restart, and superstar guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook aren’t yet with the team.
As such, there aren’t too many major takeaways that can be deciphered just yet as to the level of the team’s play. But after Sunday’s second day of practice, head coach Mike D’Antoni did say there was one early standout — and it’s the return to health of 6-foot-3 guard Eric Gordon.
“He hasn’t missed a rep,” D’Antoni said of his team’s top bench player, speaking in a Zoom session with reporters. “He looks good, he’s shooting the ball extremely well. If you had to make an assessment of everybody, this is a big bonus for us. He’s ready to go.”
Now 31 years old, Gordon’s production has fallen off in 2019-20 relative to his first three seasons in Houston, largely owing to a nagging right knee injury that led him to undergo surgery in November. Though he returned in late December, Gordon says he still wasn’t at peak fitness.
On Sunday, Gordon said those concerns are no longer an issue after using the extended time off due to the NBA’s COVID-19 hiatus to rest his knee. “I’ve been looking forward to this,” he said. “I wanted to be healthy so I could be myself. For me, just to be able to focus on basketball and what we do, instead of doing rehab before practice. That means a lot.”
Gordon has missed 30 of Houston’s 64 games this season due to injury. When he plays, Gordon is the third-leading scorer on the Rockets (40-24), averaging 14.5 points in 28.6 minutes per game.
While limited by injury, however, Gordon’s shooting percentages have dipped from 40.9% overall and 36.0% on 3-pointers in the 2018-19 campaign to 37.0% and 31.9%, respectively, this season.
After just two practices, Gordon says he can already tell a difference in his knee’s condition, relative to before the season’s hiatus.
“For sure, no question,” Gordon said when asked by reporters after Sunday night’s practice. “There’s not a second thought about my knee. It’s all about what I can do on the court. … I’m in a good spot now to where I don’t have to worry about rehab.”
Both D’Antoni and Houston GM Daryl Morey have said throughout the NBA’s stoppage that Gordon’s health was a key variable pertaining to the team’s championship ambitions this year. It’s still very early in training camp, but the initial returns sound promising.
