What is the future of Eddie Griffin on this team?? Is it as a 3 or is it as a 4?? I know that at one time EG wanted to be a 3, but with the drafting of Nachbar and his incredible shooting range, I don't think it is a good idea to bank on Eddie as the long-term answer at the 3. I think a line-up in 2 to 3 years will be this: 1 - Francis 2 - Mobley 3 - Nachbar 4 - Griffin 5 - Ming Of course, this means a couple of things: 1) Eddie must work on his low post game. I still do not know for sure if it was Eddie that wanted to shoot all those 3's and not play much down low or it was Rudy that wanted him to do that. Nachbar hit like 25 out of 27 from 3 point land or something like that in his pre-draft workout for the Rockets. Nothing against Eddie, but I think I would rather have Bostjan jacking those 3's. However, having the range that Eddie does makes him just that more dangerous and versatile at the 4 spot. I mean, how many other PFs are out there that can shoot the 3 like he can?? Not many, I would think. 2) Mo Taylor and his fate plus indirectly Kenny Thomas is another big question. I don't see Mo going anywhere because of his bloated contract. Hopefully, he will come back from his injury and give us solid production at the 4 spot. But I think it will only be a matter of time before Nachbar and Griffin have to start. Of course, Mo could start at the 5 if Ming is still not ready, but I think that is a scenario that is unlikely to happen. However, Mo could still log some minutes at the 5 to give Ming a breather. The question is will Mo be willing to accept a "demotion" to the bench. He could turn out to be a good 6th man if he has the right attitude. As for KT, I think he really doesn't have a spot on this team... Maybe a minor trade for a back-up SG that is better than Oscar Torres but is still a back-up and a future draft pick could be done for Kenny. Overall, I am very happy and excited about this draft. I had always felt that Ming was the right choice at #1, and I was absolutely ecstatic that Nachbar was still there at #15. If Glen Rice and Mo Taylor can rebound from injuries and Ming and Nachbar improve each game plus we avoid the injury bug, we are definitely in the playoffs next season. With a future of starting 5 of Francis, Mobley, Nachbar, Griffin, and Ming, this is a team (that on paper) can become one of the elite teams in the West. I just hope that Eddie starts showing a low post game because I think that is where we are going to need him the most....on the opposite side of Ming in the low post.
I agree from your post...I firmly believe eddie is a true 4 and we must have him there to take advantage of his shot-blocking ability and tenacious rebounding...wow, Ming and Griffin starting will give other teams fits!...so it has been heard Griffin is working on his arms too and hopefully that is a prelude to him working in the low post more...
I agree Manny... If Nachbar is as good as advertised, he and Eddie are the future 3 and 4 for us. Unfortunately, we are strapped with Mo and his contract so maybe he can learn to be a 6th man. You know my feelings on Mo but, most of his supporters always thrive on his ability to get off to a quick start...maybe those quick starts can come at the end of quarters or halves. Griffin and Ming together could possibly team up to be the highest shot blocking 4-5 combo in the league and that will allow Steve and Cat to play the passing lanes more and , in turn, get more stea and fast breaks. I was up in the air when it came down to Nachbar and Woods at 15. I really hadn't seen either play so if I had a preferrence, there was no basis behind it. Nachbar's attitude (as posted by Jeff) is outstanding and the comparisons to Peja and Hedu have me very excited. Like I said, I agree....when we open the new arena, the starting 5 will (should) be Ming, Griffin, Nachbar, Cat and Francis. WOW!
manny -- i'm with you...i think the rockets are best served with Griff at the 4...maybe not just yet...but after he bulks up a bit and works on his post game a bit more...and after they find a way to unload the glut at 4 they have right now.
These are all very very good problems to have. In my opinion, we need players like MO, KT, Eddie, Rice and Nachbar all getting solid minutes. 5 players at two postions for a total of 96 minutes a game. They can each, and should each, get around 20 minutes a game average, going with the hot player for any given night. Depending on how Rice holds up and how Nachbar plays, his playing time may decrease (increase) from that. I don't really care where Eddie plays in particular, but I hope he works on both 3 and 4 position skills. I, for one, am very interested in seeing what a Ming, Cato, Griffin frontcourt could do for us defensively on occasion.
Eddie will fill out,as the years go by and he hits the weights.I see him putting on at least 20-25lbs. or so.He has that touch in the low post to go along with incredible timing w/regard to blocking shots.Eddie should turn into a monster on the blocks both offensively and defensively.While he grows and bulks up over time,the Rockets will bring him along slowly.I wouldn't be surprised to see Eddie turn into one of the top 5 players in the game and the best at his position(the 4).He's what 20 now??He already has shown the flashes.Our interioir defense is going to look very good down the road.
I don't think Rudy and CD ever had Eddie as a long-term 3. He is a PF, he is sort of tweener right now because of his weight. The Rockets made that deal last year because of his shotblocking ability, and having him as a 3 wouldn't make any sense. Also, Griffin seems a little slow to be playing the 3. But don't worry, Griffin will be a badass 4. But for now, the Rockets need to send a PF somewhere, it just makes it harder now that LA has 2 startable PFs ready for trading too
The only aspect of Eddie's game that is relevant to being a 3 is his 3point shooting. He's been working out and working on his post game so he should be our 4 of the future. As long as Rudy doesn't turn him into Robert Horry I'll be happy, because he has way to much potential. Eddie can drift back occasionally but hopefully he won't camp out there. So I guess I agree with you. I wonder if we're going to keep both KT and Mo...we always hear Cd & Rudy mention Mo as part of our future. Regardless of what Doc says, KT is almost up to his full potential and we should trade him for another SG while his value is high. I don't think he fits in as well with the system and we already have 2 pf's that look very good. I'm excited as well about Nachbar, it says alot about him to do all he did to make sure Houston picked him. He seems to be just the type of player we need as well. Can't wait until this season starts...
does any1 know what the new offense rudy has really does? i think eddie will be a 4 on defense and play like a 3/4 on offense, that will be hell for the defense, gaurding 5 guys that can shoot the three. Ming Eddie Nachbar Mobley Francise imagine the advantages we have, and if eddie and ming(i think he does) have good low post moves. look out, problems for teams to guard our team.
Some great thoughts guys, just a suggestion, it would be cool if you can refer to Ming as Yao, since most of you refer to other plays with their surname, and Yao is his surname. Ming is his first name. Cheers. -G'day-
Griffin will be the SF when Rice comes off the books. I can't imagine another scenario unless Mo T gets traded.
Frankly, I like the team as it is. I think the Rockets are ready to go to battle with this roster. While we do have a glut at the 3/4, that only makes us more prepared for what we faced last year. Last year, our roster had absolutely no depth, now we have enough depth to overcome the injury problems of such magnitude. Adding Tito was a great move IMO too, especially if he can demonstrate he can play solid D at the 1 and 2. I would not touch this roster if I was the Rockets, unless we can get a quality defensive swingman with a jumper at a bargain price.
I really think that EG is the key to the Rockets achieving greatness. (Unless, of course, Yao is a bust and then we're screwed.) We know what we have in the backcourt. Explosiveness. Shooting. Penetration. And questionable D. The 3 spot is important, and we don't know yet what Nachbar will become. But if we're to have one weak link in the lineup, we could survive at the 3. I mean, c'mon -- Rick Fox? But we absolutely need a presence down low to compliment Yao. Our defensive scheme demands weakside shotblocking. We had the best shotblocker in NBA history in Hakeem, but our D wasn't truly dominant until we got Horry on the weakside. MoT will never provide this, and I doubt we get it from Nachbar. Also, since we're trying to get out of the West, we need to have someone to slow down the elite PFs. Someone who won't at least get dominated by the KGs of the world. Didn't EG have a great game against Duncan last year? We also need a post presence on offense to compliment Yao. Mo and KT get a lot of points off the dribble, and Mo gets some buckets on mid range jumpers. Mo's post game is underrated, but we need a monster. Someone who takes it to the hole like their life depends on it. We also need our guards to get off the defensive glass and out on the break. Yao will help in that department, but he can't do it all. So we need someone at the 4 who can get us 8-10 boards a game. It's a lot to ask. EG showed flashes last year, but who knows if he'll develop. But if we get someone at the 4 spot -- a monster -- who can do all these things, everything clicks into place. If we come up short at power forward (scoring but no rebounding, etc) i think we can only get so far in the West. EG's development is a huge key to our success. IMO.
I think Eddie and Yao will make a great Twin Tower impact in about 3 years. I'm not sold on FatMo and Fato, especially with the weak D played by our guards. Steve and Cat are you listing. I see the team like this Fato/Yao (until he gets going) FatMo/EG/KT Rice/Neckbar Cat/Torres Steve/Moochie/Maddox Injured List Terrance Morris Tierre Brown
TR, Cato will either be a back-up to Ming or he will be gone. The only way he remains the starter is if Yao takes a long time to get adjusted to the NBA game. However, I doubt that would happen, and I mean who seriously thinks that Cato has more skills than Yao other than Cato and his family?? Remember, I said that would be the line-up in 2 to 3 years and not for this coming season. I want Francis to sign the extension, but if he is not on board with the rest of the team, then we need to deal him. However, it seems that he has softened his stance on Yao Ming (if there was really even one to begin with). Barring injuries (knock on wood), this is a playoff team for next season...no matter how well Yao plays this coming season. I think Francis will want to stick around and play on a perennial playoff team that is constantly getting better and better every season. I know I would if I was him.
Just for the record, Clutch said it was 23 from 25 from long range. Regardless, that's just ridiculous. I don't think he has ridiculous range, but the guy can shoot apparently. I don't know about longterm. It depends on how players develop and what combination on the floor works best in most situations. The future is far from written, IMO. In the short term, however, I actually see Eddie logging minutes at the 5 instead of Mo. I think we could maintain a frontcourt core at the 4/5 of Yao, Eddie, and Mo long term as long as either Eddie or MoTay is content with starters' minutes, if not actually starting. Or KT instead of MoTay. The problem is one of KT, MoTay or Eddie will have to go in a year or two. And I wouldn't pencil in Eddie as a keeper just yet because he still has a ways to go. The other problem is say you keep Yao, Eddie and MoT. Are you happy with them as your big men? Cato has problems, but as a backup center, he still brings toughness and at this point, Cato seems like a pretty suitable backup for Yao. I could see Eddie playing center at times, but he's still a finesse guy right now, and IMO, we need a bruiser backing up Yao. These are the things I'm mulling over when I think about the future of our front court.
