Found Objects – 8.11.11
• In Zach Lowe’s Top 100 player rankings, EJ came in at #29, in between Andre Iguodala and Rudy Gay:
29. ERIC GORDON
SG, Los Angeles Clippers
Age: 22
2010-11 Stats: 22.3 PPG, 45.0 FG%, 36.4 3PT%, 4.4 APG, 2.9 RPG, 1.3 STL
Gordon’s breakout year in his third season — his first with a Player Efficiency Rating (18.56) above the league’s average — lasted just 56 games because of injury. But what Gordon showed suggests bigger things are ahead, and this ranking may undersell what he’s going to do in a full season alongside Blake Griffin.
Gordon was fantastic before a wrist injury in late January cost him two months and mucked up his season. He had found his three-point stroke by then, adding it to a revamped game that included more shots at the rim, more trips to the line, more assists and more points. The Gordon/Griffin side pick-and-roll was one of my favorite League Pass sightings, and it made clear the Clippers have two potential superstars.
But Gordon has to prove it for more than 56 games before climbing any higher. It will be interesting to see how he deals with bigger shooting guards. He is a tenacious defender and a strong guy, but at 6-foot-3, he could face problems on defense against bigger players. Other undersized two-guards are capable defenders, and Gordon could turn into another one.
• In case you haven’t seen it yet, check out “Mr. Griffin’s” cameo in Foot Locker x Nike’s “Educators 2″ commercial:
• Here’s EJ going off for 46 points in the Indiana Pro-Am League a few days ago:
• Besides dropping a casual 46, EJ is helping promote physical fitness among today’s youth:
“Everybody just wants to sit around and lay around and not be active. We just need a big change,” Gordon said. “It needs to start with playgrounds and kids just running around all the time and just having their own fun.”
• ClipsNation takes a look at former Clipper Draft Picks (2007 is the first of the series) and what happened to them.
• Ike Diogu turned down an offer to play overseas from a Russian team, but may be looking to head to Israel (hat tip to Nick Flynt).
Twitter: @JovanBuha
