Quite frankly I have not seen Griffin play all that much the past 2 games. How is the guy supposed to develop into a better player w/o PT? Granted: 1. Rice has been a good scorer as of late 2. Seniority and Salary rules (i.e. MoTay and Kenny Thomas) But I am still baffled at how Rudy is/isn't using Griffin. Why waste the pick (Richard Jefferson) last year if you're not gonna develop the guy? There were times when Griffin demanded the ball but got shunned away. Case in point: 1. Dallas-before Yao came in, Griffin had most of the Rockets' points and he posted up wanting the ball. Why stop feeding the guy that's scoring most of the points? 2. Portland-now this was one sloppy game. but that doesn't deter the fact that he still didn't get the ball. I'm a BIG griffin supporter and I actually want him to blossom into a pretty good player. It just seems as though Rudy and Co are not seeing the same thing I'm seeing. While MoTay haven't exactly gotten back into the swing of things and Kenny Thomas sliding (A TAD), why not put the young guy in and give him some opportunities?
Maybe Rudy would rather have a guy that is shooting 70% in the post then a guy shooting in the 35% range. DaDakota
i wasn't talking about switching griffin in at center now was i? and quite frankly, i don't see the point at all of griffin playing center. he has no business at center. he should play more of the 3 or 4. and 35%? yea it's bad but moochie's shooting 33% and he still plays
Rudy has done it before....and seems to be doing it now. Griffin is on the block, for sure. He must be on the trading block with Cato. I think they are done showcasing him, and they are going to trade him straight up for Tinsley and Artest...with Cato as a kicker to get Foster.
hehehe is this: 1. another cryptic message 2. a real deal clue 3. playing with our fragile biased rockets mind heyp? heh Hopefully this isn't the case b/c: 1. Tinsley would be our 3rd PG which means we gotta ship off norris for the likes of a new mascot for our new arena 2. Artest sucks. He has 'good D' b/c he's in your face all the time. and my god, if it wasn't for darius miles, artest would own the trophy for 'worst shot in the league' 3. foster........who?
I think he will be back quite soon.Rudy will use him as a 3 point shooter and shot blocker in certain situations until he becomes more confident in the post.
First off, steddinotayto, you must not have really seen Artest or even the Pacers play, if you think that Artest sucks. He is a friggin' stud. Look at these numbers... 16.3ppg, 52.3 FG%, 5rpg, 1.8spg. He is 5th in the league in FG%, he is one of the best defenders in the league. He also is a big time hustler and plays with a lot of heart and passion. We would be very lucky to ever have anyone on our team with his strength of character. As well as Tinsley, he would be a very good pickup, now he doesnt have a very good FG%, but he is a pretty good team player (a much better PG than Moochie). This would be an awesome trade, if we were to do this, but it wont happen. Artest pretty much is the heart of the defense and a key cog on offense.
Don't worry about Griffin. The thing is, he is still very young. In a couple of years he can be a dominant PF (hit the weight room, please) but right now he gets abused down low on both ends of the floor. I see him becoming a much better Robert Horry.
So he's gonna hit tons of clutch 3-pointers and buzzer beaters? Wouldn't that be something to watch...
development versus reality....G Griffin has shown an incredible ability to miss "easy" buckets on a consistent basis. This kills the Rockets in transition especially and when the ball swings to Griffin, who is rarely not open on the perimeter. Sure he hits fair from the 3, but he has no touch and no "accuracy" from 18 feet in--which is where a majority of his shots come. I say "accuracy" because he does have a nice turn around jump shot "move" from about 6 feet to 10 feet, but cannot knock it down despite the nice move to free him and give him the spacing to hit it point blank. The reality is also that this team should have won 3 more games were it not for missing wide open shots on a consistent basis. Their offense is working a majority of the time, but the buckets are not happening and I think Rudy is letting him cool down, take the pressure of scoring off and get "hot hand" players involved more. I also think one of the three have to go. We have a minute problem developing...meaning MoT, Griffin and KT do not look happy out there and not really "teaming" it up on the bench., especially MoT and Griffin. Watch their body language when not in the game...both are moping and Bill and Calvin said as much too last night. Something has to give. Someone has to step up to make this thing naturally happen or Rudy has to shake it up......
He's just being sent a message by Rudy. That's something Rudy doesn't do very often, so he must really be upset. I'd be totally surprised (and worried) if Eddie didn't play decent minutes the next game.
I was at a bar, and the sound on the tv was off, so I thought Eddie Griffin was hurt! Anyways, why would Indiana do this trade? Tinsley is a prototype PG and Artest is starter material at the 3. It makes no sense for them whatsoever.
I just hope Rudy doesn't ruin this kid. He has a ton of potential and is still only 20. I think he has more upside then Artest. Griffin seems to have potential on both ends of the floor and he's a good shot blocker. Please, don't trade him or give up on him.
Rudy is sending a message to Griffin. It should please everyone who was complaining about, that Rudy isn't tough enough. Perhaps many would be happier if Rudy called a news conference, blasted Eddie and said that he would never amount to much and that there could be some big trades soon if he and some other Rockets don't start doing this and that. It would be very Gerorge Karlesque and please those who like a tough guy coach.
Who Rudy needs to send a message to is Moochie's sorry ass and bench him. At least EG can bring good defense. Moochie brings nothing.
Wasn't Eddie Griffin called before a "poor-man version" of Tim Duncan? Or some title close to that? I think, now, I know why. Eddie Griffin can't dribble the ball. How can he make effective posts moves if he can't muscle his way to the basket? Of course he'd have to dribble the ball. I think Charles Barkley could give some power-forward advise to Griffin. Honestly, though, the coaching staff should prioritize the SKILL of DRIBBLING the basketball for one particular Rocket- Griffin. If he can't learn how to dribble the ball, just trade him for someone who can also block. At this point, Griffin is not worth the seventh pick in the first round.
