With all due respect to our man Eddie Johnson, the chants of "Eddie, Eddie!" will be returning to the Compaq Center in 2001-2002. Eddie Griffin is not going to come in right away and dominate for the Rockets, after all he's only 19 and one year removed from high school, but this is a kid who has a tremendous future laid out before him. He averaged 17.8 points and 10.8 rebounds as a freshman at Seton Hall, but possibly even more impressive is his shotblocking -- he swatted 4.5 a contest, leading the nation in rejections. He was named the Big East Rookie of the Year. He can really get up off the floor, has a strong game in the paint and can take his sweet jumper out to three-point range. He's not a player that displays any kind of Vince Carter-flair, in fact it's the opposite. Doesn't show much emotion and the game almost looks easy or effortless to him. Very smooth and versatile player. Fundamentally he is very sound. Many feel he is a poor man's Tim Duncan with his style of play (high on substance, low on flash). He finds a way to score and his shot blocking presence is amazing for a 6'9" player. Griffin also has faced some hardship lately. His older half brother, Marvin Powell, recently passed away. Eddie has stated he intends to give financial assistance to his brother's wife and three children. The knock on Griffin is clear -- is he a character problem? The only two places Griffin has played serious organized ball (high school and one year college), he has been involved in fights. Last year he punched teammate Ty Shine in the locker room and was suspended by the coaches as a result. The team went south from there. You would think to a team like the Rockets, which prides itself on its chemistry, this would be a red flag, but Rudy T says after researching Griffin's background, they aren't concerned. He also will have to bulk up, but when you consider again his age, it's mind-boggling that this guy has possibly more physical developing to do. Griffin's agent is Arn Tellem. ____________________________________________________ The above is the Clutch recap on Eddie Griffin from the 2001 NBA Draft. Look at the key statements,"Eddie Griffin is not going to come in right away and dominate for the Rockets, after all he's only 19 and one year removed from high school, but this is a kid who has a tremendous future laid out before him." and "He also will have to bulk up, but when you consider again his age, it's mind-boggling that this guy has possibly more physical developing to do. " No one hates Griffin, with the emergence of Yao, many fans have forgotten what was written above and expect the same kind of emergence from Eddie right now. I haven't given up on him and not many other fans have given up on him either. We all already know that patience is key.
I don't give up on Griffin. But the scouting report on him being fundamentally sound, a poor man's Duncan etc is just so off the mark it isn't even funny. I think his biggest problem apart from his body strength right now is exactly his fundamentals. His footwork is too undeveloped, his shooting form is too awkward and his shot is too flat to be called fundamentally sound. I am not very sure what the scouts were scouting here. I think I've learnt not to take those scouting reports so seriously.
Nobody will piss on Eddie, I think. Eddie will lead the Rockets and even the league in the rebound and block. But I do reluctantly see the guy standing outside 3pt lines often. He should beat his opponent with his inside play. As far as the outside offense, Rice, Mobley and Francis will take it. All that he need to improve now is putting on some weight and become a solid player. He will be another KG in the future.
EG doesn't have the strength (upper body) to play PF. It's not any more complicated than that. He's forced out of the paint, and has to take mid range jumpers, which he simply isn't good enough to make. The Rockets should trade him while he still has value, but they won't. It's not their style, plus they would look bad if they traded him. Basically admitting that they blew three number ones. Raven
I think Griffin would've been further along had the Rockets not gotten the #1 pick. No, I'm not knocking on anyone. I'm just saying, if we didn't have such a brilliant C in Yao, Eddie would have developed faster, because he would have played more, and would have gotten the ball a LOT more. Eddie needs to work on his arch and his strength. Adding a post move per season would make him an all-star.
I don't hate him - I've just seen enough Rocket picks that are busts to recognize another one. I feel he has the <i>potential</i> to be a so-so bench player. What is his <i>potential</i> and why?
he is a good guy, but the team's pf position is really suck. if he can make some advance, every one will acclaim him. as you said, he should be traded to shanghai sharks, in there he can developed very faster, because he can play 48 min and touch the ball 50 times every single game.
Somebody needs to light a fire under that kids ass. Dude needs to show some emotion, get mean, and hit the weights before he gets my respect as a legit PF in this league. Please see my thread on EG....
a so so bench player??? isnt he already a so so starter? how can he regress like that? if eddie never got any better than he already is he would be awsome comming off the bench for ANY team.
you mean he wont become a superstar in the league? what a total bust!!! come on now, how many freaking franchise players do you want, realistically?
No he is not already a so-so starter - I consider him the worst PF starter in the NBA. Find me a starter PF who has a lower career FG% in the NBA. I'll save you the trouble - none. Find me ANY PF who has a lower career FG%. Again - I'll save you the trouble - Brian Cardinal (Wizards) and Ruben Wolkowyski (Celtics). No regression needed - he needs to improve to become a so-so bench player. Only 1 person can prove me wrong - EG.
Exactly. The only thing EG does well is rebound. I use to think he was a good shotblocker, but now he's even inconsistent at that. His man to man D just plain sucks and his ability to play in any type of basketball set that requires movement is really disappointing. After 2 NBA preseasons/summer leagues and 1 and 3/4 of a regular season he still looks lost in both offensive and defensive sets and rotations. I'd really like to know why he has trouble learning these things after playing basketball for what?1 year in college and almost 2 full years in the NBA? Its funny because last year EG was projected as a possible #1 pick, the only reason he really dropped was because of possible 'attitude problems' after they made a big deal about punching a couple of teammates. Possible #1! My god, what a bust that would have been! Still, he's probably doing better than the actual number 1 pick...poor washington.
EG now is not the reason we traded for him. Of all the early entrants to the draft the only really young players (ie 1 year or none of NCAA) to have an immediate impact are Garnett and Stoudemire. Look at O'Neal, it took him 3 years of riding the pine in Portland and another year in Indian before his body allowed him to play in the post. Give Eddie some time and hopefully we'll have a Rasheed clone. Worst case scenario is that he develops into a Charles Oakley type player without the aggression.
EXACTLY!!!!!!!! Especially since he is the WORSE type of player to have at the PF position alongside Yao at this point. Yao needs a PF that is: 1. Good at defense- Eddie takes too many gambles 2. Consistancy- Eddie is as inconsistant as they come 3. Moves around so Yao can find him for layups- Eddie loves chucking 3s. 4. Bruiser- Eddie is a SG with no jump shot in a 6"10 body trying to play PF So, if the future is truly Yao, then Eddie is not the guy. Not saying that he is bad but his faults compound with Yaos weaknesses. And a combination of the two is disastrous. Lastly, like you said, you have to consider the risk/reward factor. Even if Eddie does become a Rashard Lewis like player 4 years from now, does that really make him that valuable to us??? Personally, I dont think so. Why wait 4 years and suffer with a guy when even if he develops, the reward is nothing spectacular and more specifically, not exactly the mold we are looking for.
Some of you need to watch the games. Eddie has gotten consistently better in the low post as this season has gone on. He looks to pass more when he is out on the perimeter, and averages nearly as many blocks as Yao despite playing less minutes and no minutes during crunch time. IMO, Rudy has a great rotation going in the 4 given what he has to work with. Griff gets seasoning as a starting 4 and MoT lights them up in the 4th. This is a quality player who has had quality coaching for less than 3 years. He and Yao are the Great Wall of Houston and will be yelling "get that stuff out of here" for a long time. Rudy got used to Dream swatting ducks away for all those years and he will not give up on someone with Griff's defensive ability. Eddie is 20, folks. I would like to remind you again that Jermaine O'Neil needed years to become the force he is. Defensively, Eddie is there already and offensively he is coming along. For those complaining about "chucking up 3s," remember that he makes a third of them. That is the same number of points as hitting half of your 2 pointers. This thread makes me happy that Rudy and Carroll are on the job.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA for those (very few) people who don't know what B-Bob and okierock are talking about... All Your Base Are Belong To Us
