Last season was just ugly for Ben Gordon in Detroit.
He had a nagging ankle injury, which is not good for a jump shooter. Due to injuries coach John Kuester’s rotations were all over the place, consistency was out the window. Midseason Gordon had to adjust to coming off the bench again.
The result was five fewer shots a game than the last season in Chicago, and Gordon shot just 32.9 percent on his catch-and-shoot opportunities, 35.5 percent as the pick-and-roll ballhandler (stats from SynergySports). Two key areas of his game.
So how does he fix it? Getting healthy is one, but he told the Detroit News he also needs to just attack more.
A healthier team would mean more consistent minutes, which Gordon also needs to get in a rhythm. Like all shooters, he needs some consistency of playing time -- a stretch of minutes -- to really get in the flow of the game. Last year playing time seemed to change game to game.
If Detroit is going to make noise this season, they are going to need the old Ben Gordon to be knocking shots down.