From ESPN’s Chris Sheridan:
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Eric Gordon played so well in the second half Thursday against Tunisia, he may have earned himself a spot in the starting lineup.
Emphasis on the words “may have.”
“Yeah, we’ll take a look at it. We’re always open for everything,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said after his team played sluggishly for the majority of the game before pulling away in the final 14 minutes — led by Gordon’s shooting — to defeat winless Tunisia 92-57 and finish preliminary-round play 5-0.
“I do think we’re going to make quicker subs,” Krzyzewski continued. “We’re going to get back to more of how we started and how we played the first two games of this pool. I didn’t think the confidence level of our bench was where it needed to be during the first part of the pool play, but I think it is now. And for us to win we’re going to need all 12 of those guys playing well, not just the starting unit.”
Gordon scored a team-high 21 points, including a flurry of eight points on a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws in the first 41 seconds of the fourth quarter, while playing nearly 25 minutes, the same team-high amount as Russell Westbrook. And with the Americans needing a consistent 3-point threat, it would be illogical not to consider moving Gordon into the starting lineup, perhaps in place of Chauncey Billups, who is playing out of position at shooting guard instead of his natural position of point guard.
“I just had a lot of open shots and I had to knock ‘em down,” said Gordon, who is leading the Americans in 3-pointers made (11) and is second to Kevin Durant in 3-point percentage (Gordon is at 47 percent; Durant 50) among players who have attempted more than two shots from behind the arc.
Billups was 1-for-3 on 3-pointers, which actually raised his percentage for the tournament to 21.1 percent (4-for-19). Starting point guard Derrick Rose has gone only 2-for-7 from long range.
“I’m not really worried about that. I wasn’t expecting to start any games here,” Gordon said. “My role is to just come in the game and be effective shooting the ball. That’s what I came here to do.”
But what Gordon came here to do and what the team needs him to do is somewhat of an evolutionary process, and the Americans’ need to get off to quicker starts and shoot better from 3-point range are two of the things the coaching staff will be taking a close look at over the next three days before they face Angola on Monday in the single-elimination round of 16.
“Eric tonight played like he’s been playing most of the time with us, except for the last two games. For some reason, he was hesitant to shoot. I talked to him before the game and said, ‘Just shoot, and if you do make a move to the basket don’t look to pass.’ He’s a scorer, and his teammates know that,” Krzyzewski said. “Actually I’m watching tape this morning, we gave ‘em some feedback, and there was a play from yesterday and Eric was wide open. So I stopped it and I said, ‘How many of you guys don’t want him to shoot?’ And nobody raised their hand.
“I said, ‘Eric, see? Everybody wants you to shoot.’”
Would Gordon get the same response from the Clippers locker room? It’s a little disheartening that the answer to that isn’t definitive, but let’s not have that distract us from what Gordon is doing in international play right now. Gordon has always been an efficient scorer, and with an absolute green light from his coaching staff and teammates, he’s flourished because he’s been allowed to.
That isn’t to say that the previous coaching regime stifled Gordon’s abilities, but the players on the court didn’t exactly provide the proper environment for him to do his best work, and a large majority of the offensive plays weren’t dialed up with Gordon exclusively in mind. The lane has always been crowded, the player on the opposite wing has never been a playmaking threat, and in his time as a Clipper, ball movement has been a theory more than a practice.
It’s still extremely difficult to get a gauge on where Gordon stands as a player. Is he an average shooting guard? Above average? Does he have the potential to be one of the best in the league? An all-star? A nice role player? No one really knows, and at 21 years of age, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
We’ll see what kind of future is in store for Gordon, but assertive performances like this one lead you to believe it will be a bright one.
18 Responses
Only Eric Gordon knows how he can be successful. Unfortunately his reluctance to SHINE made him a passive player which he’s not. He needs his team & the rest to push him first to TAKE CHARGE. He doesn’t want to be known as a selfish scorer. He genuinely cares about the TEAM.
I think he should care about himself little bit more in order to unravel his hidden talents.
Posted on September 2nd, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Sometimes you wish Eric could be a little more selfish, a little more bold and a whole lot more cocky.
I think his best traits keep him from becoming a superstar. The meek are supposed to inherit the Earth, but I think it holds Eric back from taking over the world. Nothing is given to you in the NBA.
He is already a great role player and teammate. He’s an above average shooting guard who is very coachable and has an impeccable work ethic. Hes not someone you can roll with on any matchup though. He becomes situational because hes a little too humble which shows in this article. He needs to channel some Allen Iverson level mojo to turn that corner from above average/potential all-star to 1st ballot hall of famer. Hopefully being around Kevin Durant gives him some insight in how to put all his tools together without developing an ego the size of Texas.
D.J. Foster Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:57 am
“I think his best traits keep him from becoming a superstar. The meek are supposed to inherit the Earth, but I think it holds Eric back from taking over the world. Nothing is given to you in the NBA.”
–This is probably my favorite comment all Summer. Great stuff man.
Clipper Derrick Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 6:11 pm
second.
Posted on September 2nd, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Gordon is a breath of fresh air and I am glad he plays the way he does. There might not be many people out there who care about playing team basketball in sports since its become a corporate whoredom but I still do and hope gordon gets the team he deserves. His game makes sense in international basketball because its a pure venue for talent, beyond refs giving free throws by the salary level. Blake seems similar in ideology and I think the two of them could work well together. Coach K wants gordon shooting the ball more because billups and durant are the only other good 3 point shooters. Gordon is the only real shooting guard on the team and has to compensate for everyone else. All the team usa news I’ve heard has been about how good eric gordon is, this is his shining moment he’s gotta ride it into the reg season. Shine on you crazy diamond
Posted on September 3rd, 2010 at 12:29 am
GORDON WAS HINDER BY THE DUNLEAVY SYSTEM I PRETTY SURE GORDON WILL BE A MAJOR FACTOR AFTER HES BEEN WITH TEAM USA. DEL NEGRO WOULD PROABLY LIKE TO SEE HIM PLAY AGGRESSIVELY CONSIDERING THATS WHAT HE DID TO MAKE DERRICK ROSE AN ALL STAR.
GORODON WONT BE LIMITED TO THE DUNLEAVY POST AND SCORE SYSTEM NOW HE WOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE CONTROL AND SHOW HIS TRUE TALENT THIS SEASON.
IF GORDON PLAYS AGGRESSIVELY IM SURE HE COULD PUT UP 20-25 PTS THIS SEASON COMING PER GAME. GORDON HANG OUT WITH KEVIN DURANT MORE AND YOU COULD BE A SUPER STAR IN THE MAKING PLIKE HIM. HES ALREADY BECOMING ALL STAR KEEP UP THE WORK AND SHOW THEM U CAN REALLY PLAY IN THE SEASON
Posted on September 3rd, 2010 at 1:29 am
Nice post DJ. No doubt Gordon’s value is rising over the summer as we’re seeing him mature and gain some needed confidence. A lot of people forget how highly regarded he’s always been before making it to the NBA.
It’s also reasonable to be cautiously optimistic here because Gordon still has a couple holes in his game, but he has the potential to be one of the best clippers of all time, and I think the organization knows how risky it would be to trade away home grown talent like this, especially for a player that legitimately seems to be up for staying here.
D.J. Foster Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:04 am
I would be stunned if Olshey even considered any offers that had the names Griffin or Gordon in them. He knows that they’re the type of hard-working, character guys you build a franchise around.
And it’s weird to hear “best Clippers of all time”, but you’re right. Maggette, who is a nice but not great player, leads the franchise in tons of statistical categories. If Gordon can stay as long as Maggette did (we should be so lucky), he’ll crush those records.
Posted on September 3rd, 2010 at 1:51 am
It is almost always best to shoot within the natural flow of the offense. The Clippers main three scorers in 10-11 will be Kaman, Griffin and Gordon.
The NBA game when you have a big that can score and pass effectively out of a double team is best inside out. Kaman unfortunately is not a very good passer out double teams. Having said that I look for the Clippers big three to average around 55-60 ppg combined.though 60 may be a bit out of reach.
How those points are broken down should depend on matchups and who is hot on a given night.
The Clippers biggest problem is Davis. He shoots the ball too damn much. Maybe with the edition of Griffin and a new coach Davis will firstly to get the ball into the hands of the big three especially at the end of quarters or when the shot clock is rounding down. He will have three good options to pass to. It shouldn’t be a problem. Boy do I hate it when Davis plays one on five.
griffin Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:44 am
Lol davis plays one on five.
i wish we could trade him to another team so we can get carmelo
Posted on September 3rd, 2010 at 7:01 am
Eric Gordon should start at shooting guard, next to either Rose or Westbrook. The only downside to this for Gordon is that it will spoil him. Then he’ll come back to the Clippers and have to play next to Davis. That will be a pinful shock. Gordon has gotten to the point where he now knows how bad Davis is. Before, he was falling for all the PR nonsense about Davis that so many other people fall for. After playing with Rsoe and Westbrook for an extended period, his realization about Davis will be even stronger than it already is.
So it’s more imperative than ever that the Clippers dump Davis.
Davis is never going to change for the better. He’s old and he’s a dog, and you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. He’s already said in the press at the end of last season that he wants this coming season to be about him … he wants to show what he can do when he “roams”.
I assume “roaming” means meandering slowly and lazily around the court, forgetting all of the plays, watching the man he’s guarding run past him, and chucking up bricks from three point land as often as possible.
He has to be traded in a three way deal with Charlotte for Anthony.
RL Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 9:19 am
And if we trade Davis to Charlotte, who will run point?
Augustin? Probably a career backup.
Foye? Signing him was a big mistake, right?
Bledsoe? Still learning how to play NBA point guard duties.
As much as I’d like to move Davis, this three team trade scenario will not be very beneficial for the Clips. We will have four scorers on the starting lineup, and no one to distribute the ball to them. I foresee a whole lot of iso-Carmelo… lol.
The logical piece to be traded for us would be Kaman. It’s an upgrade of our number 1 scoring option. Baron and Carmelo/Griffin screen and roll with Gordon waiting out on the wing for that three? Sounds better, no?
Posted on September 3rd, 2010 at 2:40 pm
I think BD is such a detriment I wouldn’t care if he got waived. The guy is poison to this team.
Posted on September 3rd, 2010 at 10:37 pm
How can anybody, including Eric Gordon, be productive with Baron Davis on the floor. He sucks the oxygen out of the gym on the offensive end for any teammates. When was the lat time the guy made 50% of his shots? NEVER! Just like Alan Iverson and Ben Gordon (to a lesser extent), there is no trade value to Baron Davis. Maybe Luol Deng.
Jgroove Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
I’d take Deng for Davis in a minute.
Posted on September 4th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Baron, as the pg has a lot of influence on who gets the ball. Going into last season, I expected Baron to get the ball to Eric a la his former running mate Jason Richardson. Eric has the ability to score the ball as well as Jason did when he was in GS. Baron went another route and made Kaman an all-star, hopefully he gets the ball to Eric more this season.
Posted on September 4th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
BD easily gets discouraged and is an undisciplined player. Not the guy you want to have as your veteran leader.
He is talented though. I think he’d be a great addition to a good team with veteran leaders. Not having to be the leader would be a breath of fresh air for BD.
Hopefully Griffin becomes the leader of the Clips this year. He seems to have that potential.
I’d like to see him traded for younger talent, personally.
Posted on September 4th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
it gets really annoying that Eric Gordon scores the most points out of anybody and he did it a couple times…and still it seems he is not recognized I watch highlights and they show him like ONCe….today he scored ike 2 points less than Durant who led team USA and i see the headline “Durant leads team USA to win”
i understand KD is the leader of the squad….but damn Eric needs some damn credit too….
Posted on September 6th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
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