It’s uncertain whether he’ll play Monday against the Washington Wizards and his specific role is to be determined, but Eric Gordon moved another step closer Sunday to returning from his left shoulder injury, by fully participating in New Orleans practice.
Gordon said it’s possible he will play in tomorrow night’s interconference matchup with Washington, a team that features the standout backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal. However, it’s possible at least short term that the Pelicans (17-16) will maintain their current starting five and bring Gordon off the bench.
“I’m a game-time decision tomorrow,” said Gordon, who has missed the past 21 games to the injury. “I’m going to see how things go tomorrow (at Pelicans shootaround) and go from there. It’s possible. I’m still trying to get back into game shape and be ready. I feel like my confidence is there.”
“He looked pretty good,” Pelicans Coach Monty Williams said after Sunday’s practice. “His conditioning is better than I thought it was, but we didn’t do a lot today. We got up and down (the court) some. He looks pretty good. He can play; it’s just a matter of him getting his timing back and getting acclimated to playing with this group of guys again. I don’t want to say yes or no yet (on Gordon playing Monday). It looks like it, but it’s not a ‘for sure’ just yet.”
Williams declined to say whether Gordon will start if he comes back Monday or whether the shooting guard will be a reserve. Gordon started the regular season’s first 12 games but was injured Nov. 22 at Utah in a collision with Jazz guard Alec Burks (who incidentally is out for the season with a left shoulder injury). After the Pelicans briefly tried Austin Rivers and Darius Miller as starters in late November, Luke Babbitt moved into the first unit at small forward, with Tyreke Evans sliding over to Gordon’s vacated guard slot.
“As a player, at the end of the day you have to go with what he says,” Gordon said of the decision on starting being Williams’ to make. “I’m just going to go off what he says. It’s all (up to) him, for sure. I’ll just do whatever the coach says. I’m here to win, whenever I come back to play. I’m trying to build consistency here.”
“It’s not like we’ve won 10 games in a row and we’re the (Michael Jordan-led Chicago) Bulls from back in the day,” Williams said of whether it’s a concern to alter the lineup in the middle of the season. “We need all the good players we can have on the floor.
“I think the guys are ready for him to be back. I think if you talked to the guys on our team, they have an appreciation for Eric now that they didn’t have before. He’s a guy that’s gotten a lot of flak from a lot of people. I’ve been steady in the fact that I know what he brings to the table. I think everybody can see what we’ve been missing. That should be a jolt to our team. Our guys welcome that.”
Gordon started 2014-15 poorly, but was playing much better in the five games prior to his injury, shooting 24-for-42 from the field and 10-for-17 from three-point range. Overall, he’s averaging 9.5 points and 2.0 assists, while shooting 39.8 percent from the field and 34.1 percent on threes.
“He can score. He’s got experience. He’s another ballhandler, another guy you have to guard and can shoot threes, who can finish inside and is a willing passer,” Williams said, listing off what Gordon brings to the Pelicans. “He makes the right play, if a guy is open. His defense is something we miss, having to guard some of these tough wings… I know he’s anxious to get back on the floor, and that’s why he’s been working his tail off the past six weeks.”