Is Griffin aggressive enough on the offensive end?

19 years old.
Eddie Griffin is going to be a stud, just give him a little time to mature and build some muscel.
Got Milk?

 

Griffin will have to add bulk and ball handling skills to be more assertive going to the rack.

That said, he had some nice flushes on the break - my favorite being the two-hand reverse in traffic vs the Lakers, where he effortlessly elevated and just threw it down like it was no big deal.

 

The one knock I have on him is that he is a bit passive on the offensive end when it comes to getting involved. He tends to float around alot and doesn't set solid picks. When he gets the ball, unlike, for example, the way Robert Horry was early in his career, he is agressive with taking the shot. He doesn't hesitate.

The biggest problem he has is his lack of ball handling skills and his lack of upper body strength. If he can improve on those and learn some low post moves, he is going to be very tough to stop.

 

It would have been nice to see him get shots in the 15ft range as opposed to the 23ft range all the time. How about a pick and roll when the guy actually goes to the basket and the guy getting the pick actually passes it?

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You're nobody until somebody kills you

 

I think eventually, his forte will be around the elbow/high post areas.

Also lee-later in the season, he got some more 15-18 ft. opportunities.

This year, as a 19 year old rook who was only supposed to get garbage minutes, was NOT any indication of how EG will be used.

 

I think its because his handles suck. He has said that he plans to develop them this summer. Being able to dribble well should help his game have more dimension.

On another note, when he has received the ball in dunking position, he finished with flair (180 dunks, etc.).

 

Eddie needs to work on 3 things this offseason, in this order:

1) post game- if you watched him in the rookie revue last year, he had a nice post game. A killer turnaround J. He needs to work on a jumphook, up-and-under, and the Kenny Thomas spin. Needs improved footwork, but has good quikness in the post. Needs to gain 15 more pounds w/o losing quikness.

2) Work on his shot off the dribble. He is a tremendous spot up shooter, but I saw a ton of times where he would take one dribble and shoot and it would throw him off. Needs to work on this.

3) Work on his handles. He is quiker than almost every 4 in the west but needs handles. This would also give him a little more time at the 3. Would also help him take it to the rack.

 

HOOPT ...funny you should bring this up...I was at the Nets game last night and I couldn't help thinking along the same lines. I was almost asking myself if perhaps we made a boo boo given our situation at the 3 (jefferson) and the 5(Collins). When everything shakes out, there is no question in my mind who will be the better player (i think it will be griff) but Jefferson is a little more advanced right now. Granted he is older, but he is still a rookie as is Griff. He was also given a little more playig time early on that Griff being that Kittles was injured early on.

I think a little also has to do with Kidd. He has had an MVP (he should have won by the way) year and he really elevated everyone's game.

 

The day may never come where we can say the rocks got the better of the deal. It was a risky move anyway you look at it. Hopefully EG whose knees may be suspect plays for a long time and meet expectations. The three deals NJ made last year will keep them in a good position for the next 5+ years. Thorn should be exec of the year. The third player in the deal will be special too, he just cannot get any time because of Kittles and Harris.

 

In fact, Hoop, that is a reason why I want to get Stoudamire. To me, his aggressive style is what EG is not. Stoudamire is featured in USA Today, today, and you can see the aggressiveness in his face. He is not as polished as EG, but he is what EG may never be and could be always better that EG from 10 ft in.

 

The game was awesome...not as awesome as the Game 5 vs Indiana that I gave the tix away for but it was good nonetheless. The Cont arena is nornally about as loud as a morgue but during this year's playoffs so far, it has been unreal. It's almost like the Cont arena sucked all of the life out of MSG and filtered into itself. In 15 years of attending Nets games, this is by far the most electric its ever been. It made the game that much more enjoyable. (im not a Nets fan obviously but i did root for them and id love to see them keep winning)

 

I did a mental comparison of Magliore and Griff when that euro-wannabe Van Horn got blocked on an outside jumper. Griff is going to be very special.

(side note: other than A.Miller, can you think of anyone else who played at the utah colleges that doesn't play like a euro?)

 

It's hard since we don't actually have an Offense.

 

Could be that he's not aggressive down low because he doesn't have the confidence like he does with his 3 point shot. Maybe he realizes he's a 6'10" bean pole, and just not strong enough to play with the big boys yet.

 

Keon Clark is a bean pole too!