Share Your Thoughts: Eric Gordon Edition

i think he could have Wade potential next year. He might handle the ball more and start a lot more plays himself

Wade is a much more natural ball handler.

If Gordon started the entire season, he’d averaged closer to 18 PPG, last season.

A realistic jump for a superstar would probably take EJ in the neighborhood of 23-26 points (I emphasize SUPERSTAR).

Is he a superstar?

I bumping it to the front page.

Wade’s rookie season numbers are enticingly similar. Wade got his chance a little sooner than EJ, starting from day 1 and averaging almost 15 in November. Wade obviously has a different game – he doesn’t have EJ’s stroke or range, but he’s without peer in getting to the rim. But you also have to remember that Wade was a full two years older than EJ when he was a rookie. In fact, other than Durant, all of the players you list in the post are/were older. So in theory, EJ has more headroom.

The real question is can EJ maintain his great scoring efficiency at higher volumes of shots. When everyone else was hurt in January, he had his highest scoring month at almost 22 points per game. But he also had his poorest shooting month, at 43%. That’s to be expected to some extent, but how efficiently he scores as he becomes more of a focal point is something to watch next season.

It’s also worth noting that he was already taking more shots per game than Baron Davis by the end of the season, so it’s reasonable to expect that he’ll be the first option on the perimeter from day one next year.

…seems like his biggest limitation… though not on defense where you might expect. But how many times did you see him move into the paint and get shut down by bigs? He can get around it by dropping the hesitation or passing out, but he is smaller than everyone of the guys fP mentioned except Ben Gordon (though he already seems better than Gordon). And I don’t know who said it, but as good a handle as he has and as unselfish as he plays, he doesn’t look like a point guard out there.
I don’t remember how big Mitch Richmond was (or is) but it’s an agreeable comparison. Strong as an ox, both a slasher and a great shooter Ritchmond was probably at his best playing next to Tim Hardaway. They were all stars if TOGETHER, if I remember correctly. It certainly supports the idea of pairing up EJ with a talented PG.

speaking of short people… how the hell did charles barkley average 14 boards a season ? hes a little taller than eric gordon.

He also had very long arms, knew how to box out, great timing and had a nasty disposition on the court. Rodman wasn’t a big guy either, rebounding usually comes with effort (see Varejao and Ben Wallace). If it was just height then Bargnani would be a better rebounder and Paul Millsapp would be a bad rebounder.

Let’s take your favorite GM, anyone, who is it? One of the young geniuses? Riley? One of Pop’s boys? And let’s look at their 2nd round picks over the last five years… I guarantee you they made one or two decent picks and a lot of guys who are gone gone gone. Picking in the first round is hard, picking in the second round is ridiculous. Drafting for need in the 2nd round is a joke and can’t be done.
There are a handful of good reasons to hate on Mike Dunleavy, but this isn’t one of them.
Zhiv, or whoever you are, please untie the pleasant man you locked in the basement and give him back his rose-colored glasses. I just can’t live with the new you.

Unfortunately, Baron and Zach are prideful in the wrong way. I feel like they will try to make themselves the focal points of the offense, while EJ continues to shoot a high percentage on very few shots. That’s the problem with the “win now” approach the Clippers have. They think that if Zach and Baron get on track, then the team will be on to something. That’s probably true, but I don’t see Baron and Zach getting on track any time soon. I think that Baron’s probably damaged goods (i.e. why he opted out of his contract with the Warriors) and Zach will continue to get the team wins, but in an overall losing season. I’d rather watch a team with a future win 15 games than watch these guys win 25.

Maybe I’m an extremist, but I’d completely blow this team up. I’d fire MDsr (obviously), and find new homes for Camby, Kaman, Baron, Zach and Ricky Davis. That means trade whoever is tradeable, and bench the guys who have huge contracts until they prove that will not let the team get embarassed like it did last year. Starting line-up: Mike Taylor, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Hopefully Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan. Unfortunately for the Clippers,, they’ll probably get an awful draft pick, keep Dunleavy and let Baron and Zach run the show.

I don’t think Eric Gordon is the type of player you build a team around. He is however a very nice piece of the foundation.

I don’t think Eric Gordon is a superstar type talent, but he can become a star player.

The three areas that cause me concern are:

• In 38.5mpg as a starter, Eric Gordon averaged 2.9 rebounds. That’s very poor.
• In 38.5mpg as a starter, Eric Gordon averaged only 3 assists a game. For a guard who gets that many touches, opportunities to dribble and shots … he doesn’t create shots well for his teammates. This inability limits him as an offensive force. I’d love to see more playmaking ability from Gordon, that would change my opinion of him in a major way.
• His defense. I thought he was a solid one-on-one defender and a below average team defender as a rookie. As he gets older he can improve here, but will he ever be a game changing defender? Possibly, but I’m doubtful. I think this area is his best chance at improvement.

At the moment the only way he regularly changes his game is with his scoring — which is impressive, and his scoring efficiency is hugely impressive — but his lack of ability to change games in other areas makes me think he has a low ceiling.

I’m thinking a 20+ppg scorer who will be doing well to become a borderline All-Star — the type of player who gets an invite to an All-Star game when he’s having one of the best seasons of his career, but regularly does not get picked.