The New Orleans Pelicans have a bright spot in Eric Gordon
By Nathan Heck
While Anthony Davis has been the unquestioned best player for the New Orleans Pelicans so far this season, a more unexpected player has filled the role as second best player on the floor. Eric Gordon has improved in a multitude of ways so far this season (small sample size…you knew this) to carry a large share of the offensive weight for the Pelicans. Despite defenses keying on him, Eric Gordon has been able to average 19.1 points per game so far this year, a number that would be his best since his first season in New Orleans and one of the three best of his career. Of course, there is always some bad with the good, but the scoring output is definitely appreciated by the hobbled Pelicans.
Of Gordon’s improvements, the most obvious and impactful is his ability to finish at the rim. Gordon shot an abysmal 46.4 percent last season at the rim, but he is currently shooting a much improved 60 percent there this season. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been accompanied with an increase in volume. Despite finishing at such a high rate, Gordon is actually taking 50.6 percent of his shots from three-point range this season, a higher percentage than last year, when they accounted for 45.4 percent of his attempts.
The increase in efficiency at the rim is not just a result of better shot selection or concentration; Eric Gordon’s drives are much more effective this year. The primary reason they have been effective is, for the first time in New Orleans, Eric Gordon is completely healthy. The burst from his Clipper days are back, and the Pelicans are finally seeing flashes of the player who was the centerpiece of the Chris Paul trade. Per stats.NBA, a drive by Eric Gordon is resulting in points an incredible 87 percent of the time. On top of that, Gordon is drawing a foul on that drive 19.6 percent of the time.
With Eric Gordon scoring so efficiently at the rim, it is curious that the Pelicans have not made it a larger part of the game plan. With others players like Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson struggling, Gordon could conceivably handle even more weight on the offensive end than he already is. Even though his usage rate has jumped all the way from 19.8 percent to 23.5 percent, Gordon has not seen an uptick in turnovers, and he is posting a very low 8.9 percent turnover rate.
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While the scoring output is great, it is important to remember that Eric Gordon is the very essence of a one way player. If the Pelicans can get even passable defense out of him, it is viewed as a success. Per basketball-reference, the team’s defensive rating dips all the way to 115 points per 100 possessions with Gordon on the court. This could be a combination of poor off-ball defense and teammate play, though, as his on-ball defense has been surprisingly decent. Gordon is holding his man to 43.4% shooting, according to NBA.com’s player tracking stats. As the season progresses, it will become clearer if Gordon is actually improving on the defensive end, but the on-ball numbers are encouraging.
For the Pelicans to rely on Gordon going forward, though, he needs to remedy one major issue. In almost every single game, Gordon scores bundles of points out of the gate and virtually nothing towards the end. In the last five games, Gordon has scored 0 points, four points, 10 points, five points and six points in the fourth quarter. Compare that to first quarters where Gordon has scored 0, 16, eight, 11 and three, and it is clear he starts hotter than he finishes. Couple this trend with the Pelicans seemingly unique talent of consistently collapsing in climactic fashion in the second half, and it is clear that Gordon needs to improve his consistency within games.
Next: Gordon's improvement has overshadowed Ryan Anderson's struggles
Eric Gordon’s improvements have been some of the few bright spots for the Pelicans this season. It seems like everyone is struggling, but Gordon has shown that he is ready to handle more of the load. It’ll be interesting to see if Gentry feels he is up to the task, because it doesn’t seem like anyone else can handle it.