Guess Beverley's injury made the choice easy for Gordon to start. I think it's a good decision if minutes are staggered between him and Harden on the court. We need that spark off the bench, but I think starting your best players in this case is the right choice. Thoughts?
Thank goodness, KJ still can't shoot or create for myself. Let's go all out with scoring and try building a big lead and hopefully hang on with the 2nd unit of Brewer, Ennis, KJ, Dekker, and Clint or Nene. Where does the scoring come from with the 2nd unit? Yikes!!
Welp. Eric Gordon playing starter minutes? Here come the injuries. I know a lot of them were freak injuries, but he's the first dude I've seen that consistently gets them lol.
so its confirmed - ariza will be guarding 4 guys at the same time. hope he takes on this challenge. i know i wouldnt.
MDA needs to switch it up between Gordon and KJ depending on the matchups. Gordon is decent defensively but I don't see him being able to guard guys like Lilliard, Westbrook, and Curry.
The one thing that gives me hope is that he's basically had a full offseason to prepare his body for the season, which often hasn't been the case when he's had to focus on rehab. That said, I'm sure he'll miss a stretch of games for some flukey, stupid injury, but hopefully it'll be after Bev comes back...
Natural move when Bev is out. OTMax Thx for the thread on the Chron article. Which article is that though. No link in OP
posted in the Gordon or Bev thread last week http://www.chron.com/sports/rockets...ordon-moving-into-starting-lineup-9983773.php
I was kinda hoping to have KJ be the starter next to James. He provides some defensive ability and an athletic body. He can switch onto positions 1-3. I'm not heralding KJ as the next Kawhi - Im just really anxious about not having Gordon as our 6th man - a sparkplug off the bench.
I wanted KJ to win the spot , but despite his improvement , he didn't play well enough this preseason to merit the starting nod. His calling card has to be defense . Theoretically he can use his size and athleticism to be a great defender on opposing points . But in the one game against a real PG ( Conley) he got shredded . Now it's only one game and I still have hope he could develop into a stopper , but he's not there yet . And at this point it's obvious you have to go with Gordon
This is what EG was brought here for. We were always throwing the dice as to his health (why do think he went so cheap) It's a dynamic back court .. Again, he's adapted/slowed down his game....Gordon had immense talent to begin with, but with the injuries AND a lack of discipline on the court ... Now, he is able to channel it, while filling a role...Gordon knows how he needs to play to be most effective and attempt to keep his health. It takes discipline/drive/fockass to come back from all those injuries. That kid has matured into a true pro. We'll see how good we'll be, but nevertheless, Eric has adjusted to the point of being able to play winning basketball....anywhere. A nice hybrid 1/2 who's defense is underrated on this board (he might not be what he was, but he WAS awesome)..can handle the rock, play off the ball, and is money from downtown.pull up or catch and shoot) Now, I don't expect to see all those old drives/freakish athleticism on a regular basis. But EGO is the perfect compliment offensively to Beard. I say he puts up 15 - 16 / game if healthy.
This will make Harden better on the defensive end of the court. Not having to carry the offense will make that difference.
Great, now we probably have the most scrubbiest NBA bench with Corey Brewer leading the way as 6th man. The only respectable NBA bench player we have is one of Nene/Capela depending on who starts. I guess Mike Anthony can play Gordon, Harden and Ariza 40 minutes a night. Seriously which wing on the bench can shoot? Brewer - No Dekker - Big No KJ McDonalds - No
