Gordon awaits first back-to-back
CHICAGO — The timing is a nice coincidence, but
Eric Gordon’s plan was not to start playing both games in back-to-backs just as soon as the second game in those sets was to be in his hometown. It just will work out that way.
Gordon said he will play both games of the Rockets’ back-to-back this week, Wednesday in Milwaukee and Thursday in Indianapolis in what will be the first time he has played on consecutive nights this season. In discussing the change in his routine, he left no room for doubt.
“I’m am playing both games,” Gordon said. “I’m definitely looking forward to that. I’m definitely playing this upcoming back-to-back, for sure.”
That will allow him to spend the night before Christmas Eve on the floor rather than the bench when the Rockets face the Pacers in front of family and friends who could not be there last season when the Rockets played in Indianapolis amid COVID restrictions.
But Gordon said the change was not about playing back home again in Indiana. (He sat out the first game of last week’s back-to-back against the Cavaliers and Knicks and could have sat out this week against the Bucks to play the Pacers in Indianapolis.) And it is not to help celebrate his 33rd birthday on Christmas.
“This was the plan long ago,” Gordon said. “I’ve been feeling pretty good all year. This was definitely the plan before the season started. But I will be looking forward to playing back-to-back.”
His importance to the Rockets has become clear. They have lost all five games Gordon has missed. His 48.7 percent shooting this season is the best of his career, and his 44.5 percent 3-point shooting is the second-best of his 14 NBA seasons. He’s also the team’s best perimeter defender.
That makes his ability to play both games of backto-backs, with eight more sets this season after this week’s, especially valuable to the Rockets.
Offensive eruption at defense’s expense
When the Rockets were losing, their offense was the NBA’s worst but they could be relatively solid defensively. In the month since the low point when they were 1-16, they have had one of the league’s best offenses, but the defense has slipped dramatically.
That led them to devote virtually all of Tuesday’s practice in Chicago to defense, with the emphasis not on the Milwaukee Bucks, Wednesday’s opponent, but on shoring up the shortcomings that were especially evident Monday when the Rockets allowed 133 points to the Chicago Bulls.
“Today was all (about) defense,” Rockets coach
Stephen Silas said. “When you’re scoring well, the defense does sometimes take a back seat. We have to realize our offense is a product of our defense. Our success is based on getting stops so we can run and go and play the way we want offensively. The defense has to be better. It’s very much tied to the effort.”
When the Rockets went into their previous game against the Bulls with a 15-game losing streak, they ranked 19th defensively but last offensively with what would have been the worst offensive rating in the NBA in six years.
In the 14 games since the losing streak, the Rockets’ defense has ranked second-to-last in the NBA, allowing 117.3 points per 100 possessions. Offensively, they have ranked third in the NBA in that stretch.
“Since our offense has gotten better, sometimes you think you can let things slide on defense,” Rockets guard D.J. Augustin said. “It’s a matter of us paying attention to detail. We got to get back to that and focus on that. With a young team, everybody thinks it’s about scoring. Everybody wants to get their numbers. We look good offensively. But in this league, if you don’t play defense, you’re not going to win.”