There are good and bad things to evaluate from last night’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks; Michael McNamara and James Grayson chronicled many of those takeaways. Undoubtedly one of the biggest concerns was Eric Gordon’s 0 point, 4 turnover performance in 34 minutes of action. While Gordon may not be part of the the team’s long-term plans, if New Orleans wants to have a shot at the playoffs THIS season, they’ll need more out of him than they got last night. Don’t let last night’s line blind you to the fact that Eric is still a valuable NBA player; to that point, is there a way that the Pelicans can facilitate his production? I think there is, and the solution would also remedy another potential issue with the team’s minutes distribution last night.
My fix: bring Eric Gordon off of the bench. Gordon wants the ball in his hands, and that fact is redundant with Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, the team’s other two starting perimeter players. Jrue and Tyreke are both far better at creating offensive production in this role, both for themselves and for teammates. By moving Gordon to the bench, Monty can bring him in with Ryan Anderson, and those two alone would give the Pelicans a far more formidable second unit than the team deploys at present. Doing so should not result in much of a playing time reduction for Gordon (Anderson only played 5 fewer minutes than Gordon last night), so while concerns over him pouting about the role change are understandable, it shouldn’t be an issue as long as he gets his minutes (if necessary, just tell him that he would be the Pelicans’ version of Manu Ginobili). Finally, replacing Gordon in the starting lineup with a current bench player would also help Monty manage his top players’ minutes better than we saw last night, as the Pelicans pretty much used only seven players against the Mavs, an unsustainable practice over the course of an 82 game season.
So who replaces Gordon in the starting lineup? Depending on the opponent and how the Pelicans match up, either Jimmer Fredette or Luke Babbitt. If chemistry is a bigger concern than match-ups, then Monty should start Jimmer and roll with him regardless of opponent. Ideally, if New Orleans faces an opponent like the Grizzlies with a glaring hole at the 3, then Babbitt should get the start at SF with Jrue and Tyreke filling the guard spots. If they face a team more similar to the (healthy) Spurs or Thunder, then slide Evans down to the 3 to match up with the likes of Kawhi Leonard or Kevin Durant and start Jimmer at SG.
The main takeaway here is that Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, Anthony Davis, and Omer Asik are in the starting lineup regardless, to go along with Floor Spacer X. Babbitt and Fredette are clearly sub-par defenders at best, but the defensive drop-off from Gordon to either of them has not proven to be significant enough to negate how this change could help both the starting offense as well as bench production. If the team wants a more defensive-minded presence in the starting lineup instead, there is a perfectly valid case for going with Austin Rivers to replace Gordon in the starting lineup; my personal preference is to see to see a more proven perimeter shooter in that role, but Rivers could make sense as well.
Give Gordon the keys to the offense with the second unit, and deploy him with the starters when the situation calls for it, just like the Pelicans do with Anderson. The result should be a more efficient starting offense, a negligible difference to the starting defense, and less of a drop-off when Monty goes to his bench. There is no reason for Austin Rivers, Fredette, and John Salmons to see one more minute of action together outside of garbage time. The Pelicans simply have too much talent among their top three guards to let that happen.
20 responses to “Finding the Right Role for Eric Gordon”
I was thinking a lot about moving Austin into the starting lineup. All he has to worry about is spot up shots and defense – two things he is good at.
Then you bring Gordon off the bench with Ryno and make him the primary ball handler. Something like Gordon, Ryno, one of the other bigs, Salmons or Babbitt, and then either Jrue or Austin in an off ball role.
The question is: Does he finish games? And if no, can you finish games with the Ryno-AD-Asik trio? Either way, 26-30 minutes in that role could work for Gordon
I think we need to bring Gordon off of the bench and then figure out who starts in his place. It may take a few more games of Gordon playing poorly for Gordon to see the merits in this.
My choices to start in place of Gordon are Babbitt or Rivers. Babbitt has a the shot to spread the defense and works hard on defending and rebounding. Rivers can defend SGs pretty well and has some skill at shooting spot up 3s. He is more like a “3 & D” SG, which is fine if he can stop driving to the hoop and turning the ball over. The other problem is Rivers is 0-3 from the 3 point line and 37.5% on 2 point shots so far this year. Even with an acknowledged small sample size, this is a concern, too.
I would lean toward Babbitt over Rivers. Babbitt has size and has sneaky athleticism and will not try to do to much. Rivers still pounds the ball to much….and creates bad turnovers. He and Gordon share some the same faults in there games
Eric Gordon is not going to be this bad every game. But he is going to be here for 2 years (he will not opt out if he/his agent is remotely sane and nobody is trading for his contract). So Monty will have to figure out how to use him so he is at worse neutral, net positive might be asking too much. It is hard to imagine anyone doing worse than EG did last night. Even Salmons and Darius splitting his minutes seems like it would have been better. Let him play the same role the next 2-3 games. Then bench him out right. Zero minutes. Then give him a starring role off the bench. Maybe he still pouts, but make it clear that the team maybe better off without him.
Make him earn it.
Looks like everyone agrees that Gordon would be more effective as a primary dribbler/shot-maker (what I call a ball-banger) on the 2nd unit – definitely without Reke, an often with Jimmer & Ryno. I , and Babbitt g much prefer to see Reke moved to his natural position of 2 with Babbitt starting at the 3 — he’s a pure wing player (whether a small 4 or large 3): He moves the ball so should work well with the starters. It looks like a n0-brainer. I also think Rivers might be able to adjust to a more pure catch-and-shoot role, although he’s not nearly the natural at doing this that Babbitt is, and Babbitt is likely a better defender at the 3 than Reke. Meanwhile with Gordon the banger-in-chief on the 2nd unit, then Rovers would have to adjust his game there as well. The rationale to Gordon also seems clear: You’ll be the chief initiator on the 2nd unit, running all the PnR’s you want – just get into the paint, draw fouls, and kick it out to your shooters (Ryno, Jummer, and Rivers). Hey, it’s really your only chance to get some decent stats going forward.
It’s silly to advocate benching your highest paid player after only 2 games into an 82 game season. There’s a lot that’s going on with this starting lineup that’s entirely new: Asik as your interior presence whose role is to clog up the paint and give AD23 free reign to roam and shoot at will and crash the boards, and Tyreke as a point forward/SG. You have to give these men some time to learn how to play together, and you have to give the coaches some time to understand their roles and how to maximize their contributions. And once you get past your sixth man, this bench is atrocious. The weakness of players 7 through 15 on this roster is the primary reason there will be no serious playoff run by the Pelicans this season. Eric Gordon’s strength as a young player was his ability to penetrate. But now, after all of his injuries, he’s a step slower, and his defenders are a step faster. He and his coaches should be able to learn how he fits into this starting lineup if they are just given a little time (i.e. more than 2 games).
Jimmer in the starting lineup isn’t the answer. Love the guy, think he deserves rotation minutes but his size would hurt our starters. I say leave Gordon in the starting lineup and see if he can play better moving forward. moving him to the second unit wud knock Jimmer out of the rotation completely
Seems like many folks are advocating switching Gordon’s role to Tyreke’s last year. Could make a lot of sense.
Jimmer, Babbit or Austin in the starting lineup makes sense theoretically.
Another question might be who are they going to trade with Austin? The only SF’s people would want to trade are likely either injury prone, or low IQ tweeners, even if we throw in other assets.
Should be interesting to see what happens based on the wins and losses over the next 8 games.
Great, Great article. I agree 100%. The only thing that worries me is EG’s ego. He wants to be a starter, do we think he’ll successfully want to be a bench player? I could see him averaging 13-15 a game off the bench. That number should excite him.
Come On Pelican I think it is fair to say we are assembling our mob a little too quickly (my comment included). We should give Gordon and the rest of the team time to feel each other out.
However, Gordon getting paid more than any other player on the team is irrelevant. It should not guarantee him minutes or a role anymore than it should be held against him. The only real question can he be a net positive on the court. The contract is a sunk cost – and it is not going away. NOBODY wants this guy on that contract, so stop with the trade scenarios. He is a Pelican -so we should be pulling for him.
Gordon would be much better off playing with an elite playmaker (on court psychologist) who could build up Gordon’s confidence. In our haste to bury the guy – remember this has been a hellish 3 year streak for him. To be a young guy, a professional athlete, whose body betrays you repeatedly, it has got to be a nightmare. Even when your body recovers – the above the neck stuff needs time too.
The pels roster is not balanced; this is not news. To my count we have 5 guards who are more talented than our best true small forward (Holiday, Evans, Gordon, Rivers/Jimmer > Salmons/Miller). Similarly even our 3rd best power forward (Babbitt) may be better than Salmons/Miller). But I don’t really see it as a huge problem. Just role out the best 5 players for a given match-up. Better to use a rotation with our best 8 – 10 guys getting time based on talent and match-ups rather than position. The Suns play 3 point guards, and look good doing it. The biggest issue I see if who can guard the best SF in the league. But when you guard Durant (without a cast). You have to give up something. A smaller player will get shot over, but a bigger player will get driven around.
i agree with this idea. move gordon to the bench. dude is a starter on a bad team, 6th man on a good team.
however i DONT like fredette or babbitt. i dont even think they belong in the NBA. lol. what about darius miller, dude plays defense and can hit the 3. i wouldnt mind salmons starting either
callmened
6thMan If he gets moved to the 2nd unit, you’ll have to change your profile pic.
Why do you say Fredette is a sub-par defensive player at best and if they want stronger defense they should play Rivers? Doen’t Fredette have better defensive ratings than Rivers?
I agree that Eric Gordon is better coming off the bench. At this point I don’t think he deserves to be in the starting lineup because until he fully gains confidence in his health/body will we see him gain confidence in his game. Not being heavily relied upon to contribute with that starting unit may help in that regard. Watching the Mavericks game he seemed so frustrated and out-of-sorts because he was thinking too much and couldn’t flow. I’m not sure as to why Salmons was brought on…he looks retired with a jersey on. I’m not sure whether or not i like Luke or Jimmer but having watched Luke for a year now, I’d say put Jimmer in. But somehow I feel as though Darius deserve the opportunity.
I’m surprised there isn’t more of a call to start Anderson over Gordon. Maybe team defense could overcome Anderson’s weaknesses. Davis is probably better defending on the perimeter for a stretch than Gordon anyway. Then substitute based on matchups, situation, etc. Start big, then transition to a three guard lineup with Ajinca and Babbitt as the bigs. Rivers may be a decent three point shooter at this point, and if Gordon has the keys to the offense, that second unit could be potent. I’m not saying Babbitt is great, but he may be just one step up from Miller who seems like a slow two guard.
I just wouldn’t waste Holiday and Evans’s minutes with selfish Gordon on the floor at the same time. Let him not pass to the bench players instead. I think Anderson needs to be with the main squad to be effective anyway.
Hell no
What he’s paid shouldnt matter…Its whats best for the team…and the W
Luke Babbitt
No way Jimmer should start