"Jupiter-Tequesta Garden Club: Eddie Griffin will speak on landscaping and the care of tropical hibiscus at the group's monthly luncheon at noon Monday, Dec. 8 at the Jupiter Community Center on Military Trail. For information call 744-3052. " Are they sure tropical hibiscus isn't a new term for "the weed?"
I know everyone is really down on Eddie especially with the way he has gotten himself into legal troubles lately. But hey he was and is still a young punk. But the dude has drug problems and we dont know all of his personal issues either. I hope he can resolve all of his problems and get himself personally back in order. I just dont want the rox to give up on him and have him walk to some other team and 3 to 4 years from now he turns into a shot blocking machine. And of course will torch the Rockets everytime. We should at least give him a chance first. We dont have much to loose. Especially if we loose anyone to any injurys (God Forbid) No one is perfect and although I dont know what it feels like to be a young millionaire I do know how it feels to be living fast too young. Its easy money easy women and lots of partying. But not so easy to quit the habbits you pick up on the way. Just my 2 cents. Go Rockets.
Just wanted to remind folks of some of the games Griffin had in his first year that made him look like he had real promise. pPease excuse me while I reminisce a little: 12/20/01: 25 points on 10-18 shooting. 3-7 on 3-pointers and 2-3 at the line. 13 rebounds, 4 offensive. 4 blocks, an assist and a turnover. 101-107 loss to the Lakers. 12/22/01: 24 points on 9-18 shooting. 4-7 3-pointers, 2-2 at the line. 10 rebounds, 6 offensive. 4 assists, no turnovers and a block. 115-110 win over the Bucks. 1/3/02: 19 points on 8-15 shooting. 2-4 on 3-pointers and 1-1 at the line. 7 rebounds, 3 offensive. 5 blocks. An assist and a turnover. 99-97 win over Pistons. Played 48 minutes. 1/12/02: 25 points on 10-11 shooting. 3-3 from 3 and 2-2 at the line. 8 rebounds, 1 offensive. 5 blocks. 1 turnover. 98-86 win over Nuggets. Played only 27 minutes for almost a point per minute. Plus others. He showed some great blocking as well. In his first year he blocked 7 shots one game. 7 games with at least 5 blocks. 25 games with at least 3 blocks. He had some decent games in this second year, but it was definitely a regression from his rookie season. I think it is too easy to remember his subpar play of last season and forget the sparks of promise he had shown in his first year. He really looked like he was going to great when we were watching him in January of 2002. It's a shame he's fallen so far. But, I blame the regression on his mental health issues and I think it is possible he could get back on track basketball-wise if he can get the rest of his life back in order. If EG does the work now and makes progress, I really hope the Rockets give him an opportunity to show he can perform. And, if things go well, perhaps we can have him back again next season to restart a derailed career.
Chris Anderson is 10 times better than EG. And he's making the league minimum. I hope the Rockets management could pick up some guys like Anderson for cheap price.
I have as much problem with the system right now as anything. EG is an improvement, a major one at that, but we will continue to have problems even with him if we do not change the system which is why JVG was brought here, in the first place. JVG has to take some of the blame for our dominant players not dominating. He made that his central goal and the premise was that they were going to dominate and when they do that he needed to have the right players to take advantage. Well the premise has not come true. Will it? Who knows? It does seem, after 17 games, he has not been able to find a system for either of them to dominate, much less both of them. So we can trade till the cows come home if we do not get these two fellas dominating we can forget it.
JV, great post! I will freely admit that I AM holding hope that we can get Griffin back in the fold. I too feel that it was his mental health issues that caused his game to regress after the first year. I think Griffin still has a lot of talent. He just had his head in two different places instead of thinking mainly about basketball and about improving his game. Perhaps after he gets out of the hospital and has a new lease on life he can start over with the Rockets. Clearly he has no trade value now so there is no reason the Rockets should not give him a second chance to see what he can do here. They made the investment with him, why not try to see it through? Some of the skills that Eddie possesses are things we really could use right now which is weakside shotblocking and athleticism at the 4 spot to guard more versitle 4s. Perhaps after the first of the year we can get Eddie back. Hopefully he will be healthy and hungry to start over as a basketball player.
Right now the only value Eddie Griffin has to the team is his contract, i.e., it expires if he doesn't stay in basketball. If he does stay, the team that gets him might get a steal in acquiring him, but would also be taking a risk in re-signing the guy. So, I stick with the "expiring contract" value.
He has shown flashs and potentially is the most well rounded PF we have. The guy actually has pretty good blocks and RBs numbers relative to his PT as a Rocket. I really hope his life is in enough order he can come back after the all-star break and we can give him a final test. He is 21 years old and has the talent to be a top 6 pick. He also has been/will be rocked by the legal system, his bad relationships and his financial future (contract not extended, could be looking at NBA minimum or less). These kinds of events can have a major effect--but who knows if it will positive or negative on him as a player/person. But I do know if the Rockets don't give him another look someone else will. And if he does bounce back and all this trama leads to his growth as a person and player it would be much better for the Rockets if he remained a Rocket. Because his contract was not extended (smart move)--it is low risk for the Rockets to continue evaluating him.
True....but really there is nothing to report. He is in the hospital I believe. We aren't going to get updates on how he is doing while he is in there. I think we will know more when he gets out of the hospital.
He is probably on a 90 day program. Maybe even a 6 month one. But I bet the treatment center he is in will let him stay as long as he would like.
Mr. Train, I beg to disagree. EG with no improvement at all over last year is still a better option that Cato. Better shot blocker, much better inside scorer, and nearly as good a rebounder. I cringe every time I see Kelvin go up for a shot, even if he's only a foot away from the basket.
