Eric Gordon solidified his reputation as “not even a great three-point shooter (despite what his volume would seem to indicate)” by going four of thirteen on three-pointers this game. The past few seasons, he’s been a slightly above-average three-point shooter, but, being on D’Antoni-coached teams, he’s had a green light that’s so green that it makes Mountain Dew look colorless in comparison. That green light persisted into this game, where Gordon missed his first six three-pointers before finally figuring out where the rim was.
However, it would not be fair of me to criticize Gordon’s shot selection without mentioning that he was a perfect six of six on two-point field goals in this game. Gordon chucks so many threes that it takes a reminder like this for me to remember that he’s a decent layup-finisher. He’s got more skills than just shooting the long ball, even if those skills aren’t as apparent as they were back when he was an up-and-coming young guard with the Clippers.
It is tempting for me to use my time machine to go back in time and prevent Gordon from having that series of injuries that, in my view, prevented him from fully reaching his potential as a player. However, I get the feeling that he’s pretty happy with his role right now (a featured scorer on a team that’s perpetually hovering between “contender” and “fringe contender” status, and also on a team where he’ll never personally have to take the blame for any losses), so I’ll just leave my time machine where it is, sitting in the corner of my bedroom under a dust-covered sheet.