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The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 9:19 am
by mkwest
On the season, Gordon – who turns 20 on Christmas Day – is averaging 8.1 points, 2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game and has appeared in 23 games with 10 starts. Among all rookies, Gordon currently ranks 5th in free-throw percentage (80%), 6th in steals (1.04) and 9th in assists. But as any NBA novice will attest, there is a sharp learning curve that comes with your first season in the league. His head coach seconds the motion.
While Dunleavy believes Gordon "still has a lot to learn" he applauds the rookies' individual defense. Now he'd like to see Gordon be more aggressive offensively.
"I think he gets that way some just like any other young guy," Dunleavy said when asked if Gordon is hesitant with the ball in his hands.
"You are dealing with a confidence level. I've been really pleased with where he is defensively. We put him on really tough guys and he's responded well. He's still got a lot to learn."
With roughly nine weeks into the NBA season, Gordon is starting to realize the facets of his game that need fine-tuning. He knows he plays sound defense. He wants to "be more consistent with hitting shots" and "moving without the ball a little more." Even still, the Clippers couldn't be more pleased with Gordon's progress despite the teams overall struggles this season.
"We like Eric because he has the overall ability to play the game," added Dunleavy.
"What's important to me is how he defends, how hard he plays and how he attacks the rim. He does a lot of good things for us every night."
HoopsWorld
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 5:02 pm
by illastrate
Can we finally put those "we should've drafted Bayless instead" sentiments to rest???
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 5:23 pm
by PlinkingPanda
I had my doubts about him for quite sometime since he never really proved much from summer league all the way up to the first 10 games or so of the season. He will definitely be a key player on our team's future.
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 6:24 pm
by scratch21
He should be alright for the next 15 years
The one thing is his height and u cant teach that
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 6:59 pm
by realfung
illastrate wrote:Can we finally put those "we should've drafted Bayless instead" sentiments to rest???
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 7:33 pm
by ClipperEric
As much as I like Eric Gordon and am very happy with his quick development, I still think we need another guard. Right now we have a 3 guard rotation (until recently it was Mike Taylor, I can't figure out why Hart took over that spot.)
Either way, when you see EG at the end of games he's huffing and puffing. And its still very early in the season. Rookies always hit a wall, and most don't play as much as EG has been.
I would love to trade Kaman for a bigtime starting SG. Somebody like Rip Hamilton would be my first choice. Of course we need frontcourt depth so hopefully we can bring in a backup 4/5 as well. (Maxiel may be too much to ask.)
Then we get to bring EG off the bench, where he can school all those 2nd stringers.
I am also a big fan of the 3 guard lineup. We don't have a decent backup SF, so this helps a ton in that respect.
Our biggest problem is finding ways to score at the end of games. A veteran scorer with a mean jumper would be an amazing pickup for us. I know, let's bring Sam back!
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 7:39 pm
by mj_shoefanatic
Eric Jr just needs to master the pg position in the next few years then I predict he'll have a long successful career with our team of course.
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 7:55 pm
by og15
Anyone notice his shot blocking? I was excited to see him start, and we all knew he could shoot, but since when did he block shots? I mean 0.6 BPG in college as a guard is different from doing that in the NBA, but as a starter he's averaged about 1.1 BPG.
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:08 pm
by mj_shoefanatic
^ Can you change that avatar already?
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 9:26 pm
by playaloc916
illastrate wrote:Can we finally put those "we should've drafted Bayless instead" sentiments to rest???
As much as I like Gordon, we can't really compare the Clipper's situation to the Blazers. We don't know that if Bayless was getting big minutes, he wouldn't be having similar stats to Gordon. But then again, Gordon looks cooler so I'm glad we didn't choose Bayless instead
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:27 pm
by clipperfan4life
mj_shoefanatic wrote:^ Can you change that avatar already?
off topic...but i must agree with you
Re: The Rise of Eric Gordon
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:41 pm
by thanumba2clippersfan
I've been very happy with Gordon's early success. He did have two good games in the summer league but then got hurt. I think that was his problem in the beginning of the season, he was coming off an injury and trying to get ready for the season while being hurt.