For a while now I’ve considered Eric Gordon to be like an ultra-discount version of James Harden. He’s not THAT heavily discounted in terms of contract size (getting paid 13.5 million this season) but he is discounted in terms of basketball skills. He can do most things that Harden can do, but he does them less well and with less frequency because he’s stuck in the sidekick role.
Well, Harden was out this game so Gordon was given a chance to show off his game without being held down by Mr. Highest Usage Rate in NBA History. Chris Paul was also given that chance, and he took advantage (getting seventeen assists), but Gordon took less advantage of the opportunity. He shot the ball twenty times, but only made eight field goals. You can see why Harden wants to keep the ball to himself all the time.
This seems like a good time to remind people that Gordon is shooting 32% from three this season. He’s not even good at the one skill that he’s known for. This whole description probably comes off as salty and maybe I am salty, but that’s just because I will never forget how this dude mishandled his free agency that one time all those years ago.