Geez, everyone is saying that Griffin sucks!! Griffin has to be nothing more than a 13 point, 9 rebound, 2 block player. Period. I'll say Period again because that's all that guy needs to give the Rockets. Last year he scored 9 points, got 6 rebounds, and over one block. Face it, he got tired near the end. At the begining of the year he as averaging 11 points and 7 or 8 rebounds. Griffin isn't too far away from what the Rockets need. If Griffin became the 25 point, 12 rebound, 4 block guy everyone was drooling over when the Rockets first selected him, then Yao would average 10 points a game, because he'd be getting only 5 shots a game!! Griffin doesn't have the fundamentals that Yao has, but Griffin is a good talent. As Griffin gets stronger, everyone will see the value he brings to the Rockets, without ever having to be named an all-star. ............... Minutes... Pts.......... Reb......... Asst......... Blks......... Stls. Yao.......... 33........... 16.5........ 11........... 2.5.......... 3............. 1 Griffin...... 28........... 13........... 9............. 2............. 2............. 0.5 Nachbar.. 28........... 9............. 3............. 3............. 0.25........ 0.25 Mobley.... 32........... 15........... 3............. 4............. 0.5.......... 1 Francis.... 35........... 18........... 6............. 7............. 0.5.......... 2 Cato........ 15........... 3............. 5............. 0............. 1............. 0.25 Taylor...... 20........... 7............. 4............. 0............. 0.25........ 0.25 Rice......... 12........... 7............. 2............. 0............. 0............. 0 Posey...... 28........... 10........... 3............. 2............. 0.5.......... 1.5 Norris...... 9............. 3............. 1............. 2............. 0............. 0.25 ............... 240......... 101.5...... 47........... 22.5........ 8............. 7 And don't tell me that these numbers for these players aren't realistic. Give this team a chance, don't trade Griffin.
That's why this team needs to run more. Francis, Mobley, Posey will get more points off of fast breaks, and which qualifies as more shot attempts. Eddie and Yao are the ones that will pick up the slack because it will take stress off of them with more points getting scored. That's probably why Eddie feels he has to shoot every chance he gets. And why he turned to the herb.
I agree that we do not need an all star at every position. However Griff shows little intensity and did not show much improvement in my mind. But then I do not get as many games as I used to so maybe I caught him on his bad nights. If Griff has Posey's intensity he would be awesome. Heck if I few more of our players had Posey's intensity then we would definatley be contenders.
Very good point. We don't need an all star in every position but what we need is players such as Griffin, taylor, and even moochie to play hard and play into their capablity. But have done they that we would even have to discuss about it.
You are completely correct. What we really need from Griffin is not gaudy stats, but timely playmaking. If Griffin could average the numbers that you mention, and at the same time provide things like 4th quarter shot blocking, go to offense when he has a mismatch, and the occassional shot-in-the-arm 30 point game then he would be a fantastic fit for the Rockets. Anything more is gravy... and I like his chances of turning into that kind of player.
I think the expectations about Griffin were too high by the Rocket fans. I still remember that after the Lakers game in his rookie season, people were saying that this team was going to belong to Griffin in a couple of years. There was some people saying that Griffin would be a perenial All-star/MVP. Now that we see that Griffin is not a bad player, but likley not going to be the All-star we all expected (after Rudy said he was the highest rated player in the draft, geez what a farce). The only problem with Griffin was that he sat on the 3 point line way too much. But, most of you have played basketball, when someone is going to drive to the basketball, it's better if there are fewer defenders to block the shots, so Griffin cleared the lane by moving outside (because he still wasn't getting the ball inside). Griffin was playing Rudy ball, feeding the Mobley and Francis Isolation monsters. With Griffin getting stronger, he is likley to stay on the weak side near the paint for longer periods of time. With his long arms, he will easily get those 3 extra rebounds. Plus, he will be able to get 2 or 3 easy shots off of Yao's passes near the rim. Therefore, 13 points and 9 rebounds isn't that bad. Griffins weakness is that he stays on the 3 point line too much, because that was what was required in the ISO plays, and it was a good mask of Griffins lack of upper body strenght. Griffins confidence is shot right now, he just need a little boost. And for all of those of you who forgot, before Griffin got drafted everyone said, "Don't let his lack of emotion on the court be confused for his lack of desire, the desire is there" Something like that. Griffin isn't an emotional guy on the court, but we all knew this before he was drafted. All of those who've been Internet Basketball Junkies for the past 4 years, anyways. That was the biggest knock on him leading into draft night.
Didn't the old Celtic team have a hall of famer at every position? You know, the one that won 11 championships. Too much talent is never a problem if they will all play like teammates, (and not like the "I have a contact to play for" Clippers).
It's not about numbers. Eddie just looked LOST at the court. He had no idea what play the team was running and where he should be on D. It's ok in your first year. But the second year? even if we can stand that.... if he keeps playing like that next year, man... you won't be able to move him then.
We don't need an All-Star at every position. We just need everyone on the floor to give 100% effort 100% of the time. We need everyone to play with passion and intensity. Anything less than that for whatever reason is just unacceptable. I just haven't seen that from EG. I'm not ready to give up just yet though. Everyone on this team* deserves the benefit of the doubt until we see how they play under JVG. *except Moochie
Financially.... Griffin can't afford to have another bad season. Is it a three year contract rookies sign? If we can get a low double double out of him...and 5 more points + rebounds from Yao.... We will be on our way. All of the problems the rockets had that were obvious to us and the rest of the world were due to the lack of perspective from the last coaching staff. We are getting the new perspective. One major change per year until we can contend. This season it's a new coach. If it doesn't work then, we'll get rid of Grif (and like three other players). But, my theory is that EG will be improved. His Wallet will depend on it. No more pot jokes.... I'm not even going to guess the percentage of NBA players that smoke at least once a month... Its about 25% i'm sure...
I must admit I followed Eddie in high school and college, and I thought he would be and all-star. He was a player I wanted the rockets to get. My friends laughed and they tell me your boy sucks, I made excuses but when he got caught with the weed I was pissed. Eddie looks lost, because the Rockets had no offensive scheme, I once read where Posey said in Denver they had plays and a offensive system, but with the Rockets its' just kind of do whatever. Thank you for Gundy he will be in Eddies face and will give some post up opportunities, Eddie needs weight, but now that we will have a system watch players like Posey and Eddie look like studs. Give this guy a break he is only 21 and he is five option in the offense. Coming out of college alot of people compared him to Tim Duncan including myself. He was too light to post his rookie year, he added a little more weight he must add more weight and improve his stamina and he will do alot better under van gundy than Camby.
Great point about Griffin. I agree completely. However... Why do I see so many postings with Nachbar slotted into the starting lineup? The guy was a bench scrub last year. He wasn't even good enough to be a first-line reserve. And you've benched Posey so you can start Nachbar? That's i-n-s-a-n-e. How does Boki figure into anyone's starting five at this point?
Iam sure eddie will be a great player and maybe even an alstar who knows its a gamble to keep him, he might be a complete bust or he might be the next rasheed wallace who knows but I think he will be a good role player under jvg. Rudy didnt know what he was doing thats why he didnt play that well and hes going to gain more weight this offseason
Come on. Do we need an all star ay every position? No. Do we need lazy players with seemingly poor attitudes that don't give it their all on a night to night basis like Eddie Griffin? Also no. Do we need a SF/PF that can't shoot the three but shoots tons of them anyways? Again, that would be a no. Open your eyes people. This isn't a player that is slowly developing into a solid role player. This guy looks more like an also run and a future journey man in the league. Eddie Griffin has shown us at times what he is capable of. The fact that he doesn't show it more than 20% of the time tells me this player's head is not in the right spot. If you can fool some team into taking Griffin and one of your high salary mistakes, you do it fast and you don't look back.
hope griff can come through but after this long he has done nothing to show his worth on the rockets..... i hate to say it but it might be time to trade him for a bigger pot head....Rasheed!!!
I don't think expectations were too high at all... Rudy and CD said that if they had the #1 overall pick that year, they would have taken Griffin. That is a strong statement. #1 overall picks should average more than 13 and 9.
TJ Ford S. Francis J. Possey E. Brand Y. Ming.............not a star in every position.. .....this is only our dream team. But realise this is the sort of team we will need if we are ever going to win the BIG ONE ,but if just making the playoffs keeps you happy then dont expect a team like this!
