Rockets' Gordon (leg) out through All-Star break
Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon was ruled out for Tuesday night's home game against the Boston Celtics, with the 12-year veteran expected to return after the NBA All-Star break.
Head coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters Monday that Gordon, who is averaging 15.3 points per game, continues to be bothered by a lower left leg contusion that forced him to miss Sunday's loss against Utah.
The matchup against Boston is Houston's final game before the All-Star break. The Rockets return Feb. 20 at the Golden State Warriors.
Gordon, 31, has already missed 25 games in 2019-20, his most in a season since the 2015-16 campaign. He was out for 22 straight games after undergoing right knee surgery in November. In 11 previous years in the league, he has played more than 70 games in a season just twice.
Gordon's absence will put more pressure on a Rockets' rotation that recently gambled by going small full time after the team dealt center Clint Capela at the NBA's trade deadline last week. Since moving on from Capela and using primarily players who are 6-foot-6 and shorter, Houston has dropped two straight games after winning at the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
Gordon, the Rockets' third-leading scorer, has averaged 8.8 3-point attempts per game in each of his four seasons with Houston, although his percentage has dropped this season to 33.2 percent -- his lowest since the 2012-13 season.
He has a career scoring average of 16.6 points in 657 games (508 starts) and was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year in 2016-17 in his first season with the Rockets. The seventh overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft out of Indiana, Gordon also has played for the Los Angeles Clippers (2008-11) and the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans (2011-16).
--Field Level Media
