Will Eric Gordon have a bounce back year in 2014?

By Evan Massey | Sep 30, 2014

Mar 1, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Eric Gordon (10) handles the ball defended by Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) during the first quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /

The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the darkhorse teams in the Western Conference, and they are expecting Anthony Davis to have a huge season and prove himself to be one of the best players in the league. They have three other players who are more than capable of putting up big numbers themselves in Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, and Eric Gordon as well. Can Gordon come back with a strong season this year and stay healthy and consistent?

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Gordon ended up playing in and starting 64 regular season games with the Pelicans last season, averaging 15.4 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game. He was able to stay on the court much more this past season than he has in recent years, and saw his field goal percentages rise as well. His percentages were 43.6 percent from the field overall and 39.1 percent from behind the three-point arc.

At just 25 years of age, Gordon has plenty of time to get his career back on track and reach his full potential. He was widely thought of as a potential star back when he was drafted in 2008 by the Los Angeles Clippers, but all of his injury problems have calmed those expectations down a bit. That being said, he still is more than capable of scoring at a high rate, and showed some playmaking ability last season as well.

What will it take for Gordon to take the next step and turn his career back around from being a bust due to injuries?

First of all, he will obviously have to stay healthy and on the court for the majority of the season. Gordon is still scoring the ball at a decent rate while maintaining solid shooting percentages, and having Davis take the next step and become an even more dangerous option will give Gordon more opportunities. This is going to be the best chance that he has had in quite some time to turn things around and get back on track.

Secondly, he will need to allow the offense to come to him and knock down the open shots that he gets. Davis is going to create a lot more offense this season than he did last year, and Gordon needs to be ready to knock down the open three. The Pelicans are still very high on Gordon, but he needs to start producing numbers in order to live up to the contract that he is currently playing on.

Is it possible for Gordon to turn things around this season and get his career back on track? Without a doubt he can, and he will. He is a very good player that has the talent to have a very big season as the number two scoring option alongside of Davis.

Expect a much better season from Gordon than he has put up in the past, and for him to begin proving himself to the rest of the league.

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