Griffin has been more effective as of late due to his limited minutes. He seems to be more confident in his shooting and is really an effective defensive weapon. While I know this was a Rudy "benching" thing due to his lack of production, psycologically, it seems to be helping his game. any thoughts?
Eddie would be starting at the 3 if he was quick enough to play D there,,,but hes not. At the 4 he lacks confidence in his inside game and lacks bulk. The only thing RudyT can do, is play Eddie in favorable situations to build confidence, and wait for him to physically mature. As soon as Eddie overcomes either one of his deficiencies, he probably starts.
Griffin is ready for more minutes right now. If we did not have the depth at the position we would not have gone away from him. On another team he would have stayed in there and would have been out of his slump. I believe he is out and he still remains the best 4 we have especially in our matchups with the elite 4's. EG made a big difference in the Spurs game. Remember the original plan was for KT to play at the 3. That is still available and we could go back to it soon since I fully believe EG has earned a lot more playing time.
I agree...Eddie is not a tweener but I don't think he looks forward to playing the 3 on D or playing the 4 on the offensive end. Hope Eddie himself realizes he's only 20 and doesn't lose confidence. He is still the best defensive complement we have to Yao inside and we will need him eventually.
One thing he's done really well is play defense. He's done a great job when he's defending against opponent's PF like Duncan and Van Horn. I think he's part of the reason that the 4th quarter defense has been so great. He's helped take away their inside game.
he doesn't look forward to playing inside, but if he continues to develop an outside shot and shoot a better percentage from 3, then he can develop into a mold a la 'Sheed Wallace without the baggage of course.
I shouldn't really even bring this post back up,...but where they hell do you get that from? When has he ever showed or said anything that indicated this? The little I have heard him say was that he wants to lead the league in blocked shots - that really sounds like he wants to sit around on his rookie contract and do nothing. Hell, even Cato has been bringing it this season - why so negative man?
Ppl often mistake Griffin's stone-faced (soon to be dominance) for a lack of concern. Big, big mistake. Just ask any of the people he's blocked this season. EG had two blocks in 16 minutes against Philadelphia. He is going to dominate, he is going to quietly go about his business, he is going to quietly bring H-town another couple of banners (you know like the ones hanging at the top of the Compaq Center; with Dynasty and Franchise leading the charge). Give the kid a break, I'm sure those that want to poster-ize EG as being lackadaisical; who when 20, had the world figured out and probably even had the whole "I'm a fantastic basketball player, with tons of potential, having a quiet demeanor, even with people hating on me, yet I can't even buy a beer" dilemma all figured out.
Eddie will definitely need some time. I think he has a lot on his mind besides basketball. He hasn't exactly had the easiest life and I'm not sure if he has completely overcome his brother's death. I hope Eddie starts to feel more comfortable with his new life as an NBA player and begins to befriend his teammates more often off the court (no, I'm not talking about going to clubs). Eddie has the talent; we just have to wait for him to get that fire he used to play with in college. When he's comfortable with what's going on in his life he will be a great player.
Great tribute to EG that his benching did not mean he went into the dumper. This guy has All Star written all over him. He'll be playing in The Game by '05!
Coming out of college, the one thing people questioned about Eddie Griffin was his work ethic. Could we have another Kelvin Cato on our hands?
