Houston Rockets: Eric Gordon must step up in the face of adversity

The Houston Rockets will be without one of their fearless leaders this Saturday in Chris Paul as he suffered a right hamstring injury late in Thursday’s Game 5 contest against the Golden State Warriors. Eric Gordon will be called upon to step up and here’s what it’s all about. Let’s examine.

The Houston Rockets are in the brink of eliminating the Golden State Warriors from the playoffs after securing a gutsy 98-94 win in Thursday’s battle with the league’s best. It certainly was one of the best games I’ve ever seen this season with double-digit lead changes littered with plenty of drama.

It wouldn’t be a energized playoff series without it right? You know what? This series has been everything it has been cracked up to be and more. The grit, the sweat, the strain and the heartache are all close intricacies these teams are experiencing, notwithstanding these are the feelings that us fans are experiencing watching these games take place. Can my heart take watching another game of the series? Absolutely — it’s been tested to the fullest but I think mine as well as the rest of Red Nation’s will be fine.

But let’s get to the nitty-gritty. Earlier this afternoon, it was reported that Chris Paul won’t be available for Game 6 because of the severity of the injury that he suffered. I recall it too, he was shaking and baking in paint to eventually launch a pull-up jumper that missed but he then tumbled to the hardwood, grimacing in pain.

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I knew at that point that something was seriously wrong and that he wouldn’t have Paul for those waning moments of Game 5. The Houston Rockets were able to honorably press on without him but the real test will be trying to do so for the course of a full game with the latest news being

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released.

It’s expected that Eric Gordon will enter the starting lineup with Joe Johnson being able to give him some relief off the bench whenever needed. Gordon has been wildly inconsistent in the postseason but has hit some big shots as of late, including the pivotal three-pointer that was hit with 1:21 left in last night’s game that put the Houston Rockets up 95-91.

Gordon will have to come out firing and work to help distribute the ball among his teammates. He has done so before while Paul was suffering from injury early this season but not against the Warriors. It will be an interesting test for him if he chooses to accept the challenge. I’m positive that he will but it’s all about if he responds to it.

I know he can do this but one already knows that the Warriors will be keying-in on him. He just needs to help keep the ball moving on possessions and keep the isolation plays to a minimum. I’m certain that Mike D’Antoni will run some plays specifically for Gordon but this team is most effective when the ball is moving around.

In this series, Gordon has averaged 18.2 points and 1.6 assists off 15-for-42 shooting from behind-the-arc (35.7 percent) and 28-for-70 from the field (40 percent). He’s also averaging 33.4 minutes per game and I’d certainly expect that number to increase for tomorrow night.

Gordon has the goods to make this team as well as the Houston Rockets fan base quite proud but it’s a matter of him being able to step up in the cold eyes of adversity. This will be one of the biggest moments of his career and I hope that he makes the best of it.

We’ll have to see but I’ve got full faith in Gordon’s ability to get the job done.

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The Rockets will take on the Warriors at Oracle Arena Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CDT for both teams. The game will be televised on TNT and will be broadcast on NewsRadio 740 AM (KTRH) and La Ranchera 850 AM in Spanish.

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