Gordon eager to return to play after his ankle sprain in bubble
Eric Gordon had gone through the knee pain. He had dealt with the surgery, the rehab and the comeback. Able to train for months through the NBA’s hiatus, he had pushed himself to finally feel as if he had left the struggles of the season behind.
Then he stepped on Vincent Poirier’s right foot in the Rockets’ final restart scrimmage against Boston, turned his left ankle and had to go out again.
“It sucked that it happened,” Gordon said. “Just a freak injury that I landed on somebody’s foot and twisted it pretty good. Now here I am … really getting some live work so I can incorporate myself into the game.”
He will get his chance this week. Assuming things go as expected, when Gordon returns Wednesday the Rockets will be at full strength for the first time in the seeding games, less than a week before Monday’s start of the postseason schedule.
They just won’t look it. All-Star Russell Westbrook, who has missed two games with a bruised right quadriceps muscle, is expected to
play Tuesday against the Spurs but then sit out the second half of the back-to-back, as he has all season.
James Harden will be held out Tuesday for rest before returning Wednesday against the Pacers.
The Rockets were fairly certain Westbrook and Harden would be available for the final seeding games and practices. Westbrook played well, even with his late arrival on the NBA campus in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., before he was hurt prior to struggling through the loss to the Trail Blazers. Gordon’s return has been more of a long-term project, with the Rockets taking advantage of the bubble setting to provide treatment at all hours, as is more common in the playoffs.
“We’ve been doing a lot around the clock every day with my ankle,” said Gordon, who was initially concerned he would miss more than the six games the ankle sprain cost him. “This is the most rehab I’ve really done in a short amount of time. It’s been good. I think I’m in a good place to where I can start really pushing it on the floor.
“I’m just doing whatever it takes for my ankle to feel OK. We’ve been really trying to force and push the issue on it. I’ve got to follow the timeline my ankle gives me. I’m going to get a couple games in. I look forward to getting better every day.”
The Rockets’ next challenge will be getting their nine-man rotation in sync with one game, at most, at full strength. There will be weekend practices before playoff games begin, but there is uncertainty whether Gordon and Westbrook in particular will have enough time to be sharp for the start of the postseason.
“Does it really matter how confident I am? I hope so,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “You just don’t know, but I would imagine that they’ll be fine. I’ll worry about it like (with) everybody else. I worry
about everybody.”
The Rockets’ depth appears stronger than when Gordon was helped off the floor. Danuel House Jr., who returned to the starting lineup with Gordon out, has been solid in the seeding games. Ben McLemore has excelled. Austin Rivers put up a career-high 41 points Sunday.
With the roughly 65 minutes Westbrook and Gordon combine to play, spreading court time around will be a challenge but should help through the grind of a playoff schedule with games coming every other day.
“It’s going to be really good,” forward Robert Covington said. “We’ll have our full team. We’ll be able to complement everyone and get back to a full rhythm and really make a push toward this playoff run. We can get a couple games (at full strength) under our belt. That way we can get right into it. We won’t be easing our way into it.”
Even when the Rockets are at full strength, Gordon’s play is considered vital. He brings shooting range and defends more physically than most other guards on the Rockets’ switches.
Before the league’s March 11 shutdown, he had made just 37 percent of his shots, the worst percentage of his 12 NBA seasons. His 31.9 percent 3-point shooting was his worst in eight seasons. But the subsequent work he put in was expected to help him turn that around.
“When everybody’s out there, I’m going to show how much firepower we really have,” Gordon said. “I’m looking forward to it. Now it’s all about focusing in our team and getting back and playing, hopefully, a good two games before the playoffs start.”
He will have to be patient just a bit longer. But after spending the season rehabbing and then sitting out two weeks amid the restart, Gordon can wait a few more hours.