Opposing teams are trapping Houston Rockets superstar James Harden at every turn and forcing the other players on the Rockets to score. Rockets shooting guard Eric Gordon, who will return to the lineup on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans, believes his shooting and playmaking skills will help the Rockets cope with teams trapping Harden.
“You know it’s gonna happen,” Gordon said of Harden traps, via The Athletic. “When I get back going, hopefully, we won’t have that problem or issue and we can just go out there and play. But they’re going to do that even if I’m out there sometimes, cause they don’t want James to be scoring like that. That’s where I come in, and a lot of guys come in. we just gotta make plays for one another. That’s what really needs to get back to, making things easier for everybody.
“That’s what I do, knock down shots. You’re getting another dimension where I can create my own shot also. If they want to continue doing it, we’ll see what happens.”
Eric Gordon scored a season-high 17 points for the Rockets while shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc versus New Orleans on Nov. 11. He’s averaging 10.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game this season for the Rockets while shooting 30.9 percent overall, 28.4 percent from the 3-point line and 64.3 percent from the charity stripe.
The Rockets are 21-10 on the season, good for fourth place in the Western Conference standings. They take on the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, looking to get back in the win column after losing to the Golden State Warriors on Christmas.
The hope in Houston is that Gordon will shoot the ball better from deep now that his knee pain is gone. For his career, Gordon is a 37.2 percent shooter from beyond the arc. The Rockets are certainly thrilled that Gordon is back in the lineup before the All-Star break.
Everyone will have to adjust their games now that Gordon is back, but the Rockets are confident it won’t be difficult since Gordon has been in Houston since 2016.
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