Gordon Is Walking On Air

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
A quiet type, Bulls reserve Adrian Griffin isn't prone to hyperbole.

But apparently, Griffin has no problem with sacrilege.

"If Ben [Gordon] were 6-6 or 6-7, he'd be like Michael Jordan," Griffin said. "He's that scary."

Phew. Thank goodness for Griffin's qualifier "like." And perhaps Griffin can be excused as being light-headed, either from chasing Bucks guard Michael Redd around Sunday afternoon or from Gordon's intoxicating 48-point effort in Sunday's victory.

But Griffin's praise for the, ahem, 6-foot-2-inch Gordon is perfectly compatible with the goals Gordon has for himself. They're large. They go far beyond hardware like, say, the league's Sixth Man of the Year Award and?dare we say it??to dreams that are statuesque.

"Before it's all said and done, I want to do a lot of great things in this league," Gordon said. "I want to be remembered forever."

Jordan, of course, will be?or will be for as long as highlight films exist and his statue stands sentry outside the main entrance to the United Center.

To reach such rarified air?and this is not to compare Gordon to Jordan, no matter what Griffin says?Gordon knows he must win championships and become a more complete player.

The third-year guard is ready for both.

After starting Sunday, Gordon owns the same number of starts and reserve appearances this season at 31 each. That means, with 11 starts in the final 20 games?an inevitability barring injury?Gordon will be ineligible to win his second sixth man award.

And that's fine with him.

"I already won it, so I don't really need that one again," Gordon said, smiling. "It's time for me to get something else. I don't want to keep winning Sixth Man of the Year or that's all I might amount to be?a sixth man.

"When I look at my rookie year and what I did, that was a one-time thing. Hopefully from here on out, hopefully I can be competing for better awards."

Gordon won't win Most Valuable Player this season even if he goes for 48 in each of the Bulls' final 20 games. Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant and others have the inside track on the award Jordan won five times.

But Gordon's desire to be known as more than a scorer or a specialty player enhances his opportunities moving forward.

"I think I've become smarter as a player and so I do think I'm a more complete player," Gordon said. "I've had more games where I'm scoring over 20 and I have five assists and five rebounds. It's something I'm still working on, but I think I've improved."

His downfalls continue to be decent?at best?defense and stretches where he's prone to bad decision-making. Gordon's tendency to occasionally jump in the air and then frantically look to pass is a habit grade-school coaches work to correct. And, tied for 18th in the league at three turnovers per game, he commits some miscues coach Scott Skiles might call laughable.

"He's still having a great year," Skiles said. "He's shooting 46 percent now and 40 from three."

Ah, yes, everything seems to revert to Gordon's scoring ability. At 32.4, Gordon ranks 10th in the league in scoring per 48 minutes. And his 21.6 points per game represent a career best.

In his last five games, Gordon is averaging 30 points on 55.7 percent shooting.

"I really don't see any weaknesses," said Griffin, who also watches and often guards Gordon in practice. "If you look at a guy his size and to do the things he does, it's quite incredible."</div>

Source