Agreed. EG is overrated right now. The only things he can do now is shooting 3s and blocking shots. The guy puts up poor numbers night in and night out, but rare gets bashed for it. Fans love him, and so do I. One of the myths going on this board is that EG is a good rebounder, well, check the stats again, he averages 5.5 in 25 minutes. That's about one rebound in every five minutes. MoT doesn't need to feel bad facing EG. EG also got lit up by elite pfs quite a few times. EG has major work to do on his game: 1. Shooting. 2. Strength. 3. Man on man defense. 4. Footwork. 5. Dribbling. That's why the Rockets need a better pf right now to start. MoT is a lost clause, and it's stupid to trade EG. We spent three picks on him and one of it was Richard Jefferson! Besides, he's only 20 with a lot of untapped potential. I bet EG will be a completely different player after 3 years. Gary Payton and Jermaine Oneal struggled for years in the beginning, look at them now. I'd rather bring in another quality pf and let Griffin develop as a backup, unless the Rockets want to lose games for the next three years with our piss poor pf combo. We are solid ans set at every other position, only Cato's stock is rising and became expendable with Yao and Collier at C.I know this might upset the Cato fans, but this is the best time to bring hope to the pf spot before Eddie reaches his potential, and serves as a safety belt in case that Eddie busts. Keep in mind the Rockets are short on capspace and picks in the forseeable years. Perhaps Cato should be traded to upgrade the pf spot when his stock is high and doesn't get much PT behind Yao anyway.
Do we remember how he tore up the summer pro leagues? Are we forgetting that span of games where all of our top 3 scorers were injured last year (Francis, Mobley, Thomas, and some others I think)? Where EG stepped it up massively, shot incredibly, scored at will, blocked shots like mad, rebounded, and was looking like he would quickly become a 20 and 10 guy? I believe he did that when he was still 19. If you want a view of what he could become, I think THAT would be where you wanna look. It wasn't one fluke game, it was long series of games, including one where he nearly single-handedly carried us over the Lakers (when they didn't suck). This was a span that had columnists and basketball analysts saying that "in two or three years, he'll be the best player on this team". May not be true anymore, but I still sure as hell don't mind keeping him. He hasn't looked good since then in my opinion because we haven't needed him to be much more for us than a defensive presence and a rebounder, so he fell back into the shadows of low FG% and low scoring. We have scorers, and if we need more one day because of say... another injury (god forbid), I personally think he'll be there for us. He's taking 3's because he's being told to do so, that's what he's being used for. I'm pretty sure that'll change soon enough as well as he works on his weight and inside game. His percentage is so low because of these 3's and other perimeter shots. I dunno, but I also don't think that his performance this season has been that much of a dissappointment for me so far. I had very high expectations to start the season for him that he didn't quite meet, but then again, I didn't expect so much so early from Ming this season. Again, after Ming developed so quickly, there just wasn't as much of a need for another low-post badass in Griffin. I expected more from Ming, and about this much from Griffin at this point after seeing how things developed.
Absolutely agree, Panda. The Rockets have trouble winning. It's no longer a matter of developing young talents. It's about taking the team to the playoff. Meeting the team's goal.
Hate to break it to you but Griffin is not as good as Stoudemire and NEVER will be. Man some of you are funny. You better buy League Pass and catch a game or two.
Striker, That's great advice for all of the posters! Maybe they will see Rudy's brand of ball is not Playoff Ready!
I concur...some ball players explode off the blocks and become instant contributors to the team. What we have is a slow-cooking gem who in 3 years' time will be lauded as a legit player. The best example I can think of who was a late bloomer come All-Star was Shawn Kemp in his Seattle days. Eddie won't be as explosive as Kemp was (Kemp was the human pole vault) but he will should come close to averaging a double double in 3 years. The bigger question for the Rockets is executing in the 4th quarter. If the Rox don't make the play-offs this year, all these close games will haunt them.
Eddie does not need to be a superstar with the young talent we have on this team. I would be happy if he turns out to be a good, servicable power forward, like an Otis Thorpe. I would like to see him develop more defensively than offensively, if I could only pick one area. Keep in mind that picking at #7 is no guarantee; quite a few players have been picked at or near that pick that have not amounted to much.
I hope you read the Griffin's comments in the Jan. 6 Chron sports pages. He is struggling to digest a boatload of information from plays to positioning. As he thinks about it, the game around him is moving at incredible speed. Therefore, as he says, he needs to just play and not think. With time, as he learns the game, the plays, positioning and moves will come automatically. But, geez Louise, give the lad a chance!
I think Eddie is developing. Alot of his shots going in and out of the basket and he is dribbling more now. He has a nice skills now too like 3pt shooting, blocking shots and rebounding, thats a interesting combination of skills. I see him as a future KG just with less quickness and playmaking skills. Look at KG his first two years, he was a tooth pick so there is still hope. J Oneal became a star in his 3rd or 4th year, so don't worry. You guys should think of it like this; he is a 20 yr old starting for a playoff team, thats not bad.
I agree he is continuing to develop, but comparing him (or his development) to KG is unrealistic. KG has been and is the primary option in MIN... Griffin will never be here (nor should he).
youandme... get off of eddies back. he is still a kid. right now, hes the best p.f. weve got. eddie g doesnt go to mcdonalds and tell you how to flip burgers, so chill out on him.
Gentlemen, please! Can't we all just get a bong? Uh, I mean 'along'? All this talk of banning and who sucks as a poster and whatnot isn't really what these forums are supposed to be about, now is it? These forums are supposed to be about discussing the Rockets, plain and simple. On the other hand ... Sure, some negativity about the team is not only to be expected, but is sometimes needed. Whenever people invest a sports team with their interest and support, passions can run high. However, certain people here don't seem to really be Rockets fans as much as people who've selected the Rockets on whom to vent their spleen. Sure, they may celebrate when the team wins, but their jubilation is usually in the 'take it with a grain of salt' vein ("It's great that the Rockets won, BUT..."). <rambling> My best friend is sort of like that. He loves the Rockets but when they're playing poorly (and he's had a few beers) he totally goes off on Steve, Yao, The Abyss (Cat), or whomever it is that's struggling that particular night. I end up spending the rest of the evening defending those he's attacking and making justifications for their poor play. It drives me nuts, but he's still my best friend and I still love watching games with him. </rambling> Our society has the collective patience and attention span of a gnat, and this type of thread just proves it. It is WAY too early to call Eddie a bust, and anyone who does so is talking out of their ass. It's tantamount to calling my 10 month old son a bust as a speaker because all he can say now is "Bah bah bah, oh oh oh." Give it some time, for chrissake. At 20, the guy should be a junior in college right now. He (and others on this young team) need time to develop their skills and hone their team play. In other words ... chill out, fool. b_c
Please. The things said about EG on this board were the exact same criticisms of McGrady. Their stats are actually quite similar. This bashing is far too premature. Let him develop! From what I've read, the main knocks on EG are his shooting and his defense. I think that both will improve as he gets bigger. The bigger he gets, the more shots he will take inside the line. The guy can already block shots, his post defense is what needs improvement. Right now, I just don't think he has the base to guard the Brands and Webbers of the league. Sometimes it looks like he overcompensates for his lack of strength by leaning on the other player. Once he does that, they can simply go around him. It will get better.
I reread the thread. After a while, it wasn't about EG sucking and being over rated or not, it was just attacking Youandme. I mean, if youandme wants to make a name for himself, I don't see anything wrong with stirring the pot. I just think it is not a great way to make a name for yourself by acting like an ass or something.
yes im starting to believe he is over rated. but i love the guy....for now he is over rated i think though in the future he will be a valuable asset
Exactly. youandme has nothing constructive to say about the Rockets. I b**** sometimes, too as we all do, but he just goes on and on. Cheer for the Mavs then. Or wait until baseball season to come around. I remember his last thread about Shaq and how he will "kill" Yao. Well, let's wait and see then we can talk. He is one of those fans as soon as things start going well, he will be back on the bandwagon.
One Name: Jermaine O'neil. He was not a good player to say the least for the first several years of his career and why? Because he was young and on a talented team that did not need him to do too much. Sound familiar? Look EG is not a great player right now but guess what? We have at least 3 and arguably 5 players that are higher priority scoring options on the team. The main problem I think I see is that the staff is not really working with EG on his low post game or even making him go down there too much. I just hope and pray that Rudy is not trying to turn him into Robert Horry b/c he has so much more talent then that. But we all HAVE to wait and see. And YouandMe you've got to chill man. First the collapse post (were 2-1 or 3-1 since that was posted) and now this! I assume you like the Rox so try showing a little love now and again, it can't hurt.
Eddie Griffin's game reminds me a lot of Robert Horry early in his career. I think that most everyone on this board would take anouther Horry. Griffin would be a junior in college this year so give the kid a break. He has just started to see some consistent PT after the Kenny Thomas trade.
