The 2019-20 NBA season was quite unpleasant for the Houston Rockets’ veteran guard, Eric Gordon. For somebody who shot 42.5% from the field and 37% on 3-pointers throughout his career, we saw a huge dip in his performance.

They went down to 36.9% and 31.7%, respectively. A lot of it has to do with him being injury ridden. Gordon missed almost half of the 72 games that the Rockets played in the regular season last year.

However, by the time it came to the Playoffs, his shooting gained momentum once again. He played an integral role against Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the first round of the Playoffs. His perimeter defense against Chris Paul was commendable.

Even during the second round of the Playoffs against the Lakers, he did a good job defending their star player, LeBron James. It is Gordon’s versatility that makes the Rockets defense one of the best in the league.

All uphill for Houston Rockets’ Eric Gordon from here onwards?

As Gordon is much closer to being fully healthy now, the Rockets will hope that he continues his improvements in the upcoming 2020-21 season.

According to Kelly Iko from ‘The Athletic’, “Gordon will be looking for a bounce-back year, and there’s real internal confidence that he could be a comeback player of the year type in 2020-21.

“The Rockets need him to return to his 6MOY [Sixth Man of the Year] days and not the laboring, injury-prone guard we saw last season.

“Stephen Silas should make this one of his top priorities, as a healthy and firing Gordon not only makes Houston’s rotation that much more potent, it allows you to not lean so heavily on James Harden and Russell Westbrook.”

For a team that got kicked out in Round 2 of the Playoffs, they need that individual growth from their key players. Gordon has at least 3 more seasons with the Rockets. It is unlikely that they will get a good trade deal for him.

Therefore, it is in their best interest to give Gordon some more time to get back to his form. Will the Rockets live up to the expectations set upon them?