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A new star is born
Gordon appeared to have won the trust of his bosses. Next it was time to convince the rest of the league. Despite the guard’s offensive outbursts, there were still insiders within the reporting industry who showed the Clipper youngster the cold shoulder. Gordon was then named the NBA’s Rookie of the Month in January and he jumped from 15th place to fourth by the third week of March on one list.
If you take away Gordon’s shooting percentage of nearly 45 percent and look at his “True Shooting Percentage” you can see what kind of impressive company he keeps already. The value combines the two-point, three-point and free throw percentages and is considered one of the most effective parameters to determine a player’s offensive performance. Compared to all NBA shooting guards with at least 500 minutes played, Gordon ranked fourth at 59.3 percent. Ahead of him are only Ray Allen, Kevin Martin and Manu Ginobili. And Gordon was better than superstars like Kobe Bryant (21st place, 56.1 percent) and Dwyane Wade (12th, 57.4 percent).
(zü) Rookie Wall: What’s that?
Gordon also picked a match-up against a top rookie for his top highlight of his young career. At the end of January, he guided the Clippers to a home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Russell Westbrook with 41 points. Besides his impressive point total, the Clipper rookie also showed an outstanding variety of taking apart the Thunder defense. He connected on 12 of 19 shots from the floor, including 5 of 7 from three-point range. Compared to other, more classical perimeter guards Gordon did not rely on his fine shooting game – just like he did not all season. He was fouled 14 times and scored 12 of his points from the foul line. “Of course that really strengthens one’s confidence,” said Gordon. “If you begin to score a lot of points that way, you are more able to read the defense.”
The developing Gordon profited more than perhaps any other player on the roster from the Clippers’ amazing injury bad luck. The shooting guard began to move into the focus of the fans’ interest. He also made a joke of the much-feared “Rookie Wall”. Most of the league’s other newcomers felt the brutal NBA schedule in the second half of the season, were suffering from injuries or lost their effectiveness. O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies, for example, was league-wide considered the top candidate for the Rookie of the Year. But after a strong November he had to watch his statistics drastically fall despite consistent playing time numbers. Mayo’s scoring average rose only in February and only marginally due to a high shooting percentage. Gordon meanwhile tripled his scoring average from November to January (from 7.8 points to 21.9) and saw a continual increase in playing time (from 19.1 minutes to 41.1).
Since then, the injury returnees Davis, Zach Randolph and Chris Kaman took away a portion of the scoring burden from Gordon’s shoulders. But the rookie’s shooting percentage remained excellent. In February and March, Gordon knocked down more than 47 percent of his attempts from the field. “I was always a scorer,” said the young guard after another 35-point contest against the Indiana Pacers in March.
(zü) Basketball in the genes
As the oldest of three brothers, it was clear early on that Gordon had received the talent of his father, a former college basketball player. Eric Sr. and Eric Jr. spent countless hours in the driveway of his parent’s house in Indianapolis. And shooting technique was not the only part of training, but also the less spectacular aspects of the game such as boxing out under the basket and setting the correct screen.
And those workouts with Papa Gordon had success. Gordon’s offensive potential at North Central High School in Indianapolis made him a McDonald’s All-American and the 2007 Indiana Mr. Basketball.
