If this has been hashed out before, sorry. I don't see us getting another PF, so the question is what can JVG get out of Taylor and Griffin. Taylor: Last year was his first year back from his Achilles injury. At times he was still slowed by the injury. At other times, he was our most consistent low post threat (the jump hook was awesome at times). Irrespective of JVG's impact, I look for Taylor to have a very good year. Prior to Cato's "break out" year last year, it was really fashionable to crap all over him. Well, Taylor has no less of a chance to have a "break out" year that may dull the pain of his contract. Taylor's skill set is far more advanced than Cato. All he needs is physical health and a freaking task master to get him to realize his potential. That's where JVG comes in. Despite his finesse game, Taylor was the one who emerged as Yao's "enforcer," at least in his words. Taylor talked tough and sometimes acted it. JVG will turn Taylor to his thug side. Taylor may challenge for the starting position. Griffin: I remain highly concerned about Griffin. I don't see anything in his offensive game to suggest he will develop. My hope is that JVG will turn Griffin into a hustling defensive whirlwind where Griffin will score the majority of his points off putbacks, running the floor and an occasional line drive from 15 feet. Pet stores carry that product that keep dogs from venturing beyond an invisible perimeter of the yard. Well, JVG needs to get one of those for Griffin and each time Griffin ventures beyond 15 feet from the basket, BZZZZZT! , Griffin receives a shock and goes back toward the basket. I can see JVG bringing Griffin off the bench to take pressure off him.
Good idea about the electric shock thing for Grif. We could tie a 15 foot leash to him and the goal post if we didn't need him so badly on defense.
Great post! I think you're right in the fact that JVG can and should assume the alpha position and teach our players their roles. Hell, Grif and Mo could use some kennel training, if only to keep them away from the reefer. I think this was the biggest weakness of the Rockets in the post-Hakeem era: lots of talent, weak direction.
Riley you are spot-on on MoT but way off on EG. EG will prove to have a more varied offensive game than MoT with more range and more shots and he certainly can defend the spot better than MoT. May I suggest you look at the second game we played against the Suns last year as a game where you will see what EG is capable off and MoT will never be able to do. Would I like EG to have a very reliable low post move like MoT does? Sure! Who is to say that 1. EG's game will not be much improved from day 1 and 2. that the JVG effect would not be as big an impact on EG as it is on MoT.
DearRock, I realize that Griff has potential. I just loathe soft play. I had a similar problem with Horry's famous "disappearances".
Agreed but I think he was also affected by KT's presence initially and the organization's feeling like they have to use MoT partly because they are playing him big money. EG is on the soft side however if he just shot the ball better I would have not problem with him. Dunk when you have to dunk but EG can score really from anywhere. The trick may be to get him to show up, which I am thinking JVG will do. Our play and resulting record is very impressive when this guy shows up. Do you remember the Laker game? Two of those blocks on Shaq should have been credited to EG and not Ming. Of course you also remember him blocking KG and Duncan on both of whom EG is the preferred defender instead of MoT. It may not be entirely fair to call him soft.
Unless JVG is a freaking magician, I would really like to see EG traded to improve our front line. Sure he is young, but we need someone who can come in and bust his ass on the boards, hustle, and get mean - helping out Yao in the process. Someone like a younger less expensive Brian Grant. I dont see any tools in EG that show me he is ready to step up. Furthermore, if Im a coach, I dont want to see my PF anywhere close to the 3 pt. line.
I understand your point but I don't think trading EG is a solution. I would bring him off the bench and let MoTay start. EG is still learning and has shown flashes of what he can become.
When he was playing in Seton Hall, Griff was drawing comparisons to Tim Duncan. Now he looks more like a (considerably)less talented Robert Horry. I'm hoping that JVG can knock some sense into him. But I'm afraid that Eddie's post offense is just so bad that Rudy let him play so far from the basket because he simply couldn't do anything near the bucket. This is really where Patrick Ewing has to come in, because Eddie will never reach his potential if his post game doesn't develop.
it's not that eddie's post up game is bad, it's that he's not strong enough (yet) to utilize it against the grown men of the nba. that's why you always see griff dominating in the summer leagues but struggling in the regular season. griff has mucho game...we just have to be patient while his body develops!
I hope you're right. Other than needing to understand his role, Griff needs to do: 1) beef up, 2) learn to use his body more effectively. He's actually bigger (heavier) than Garnett, but isn't able to use his body nearly as well. Garnett: 6'11" 220lbs Griffen: 6'10" 232lbs Not many can manuever around the basket like Garnett...maybe Duncan...but, noone else comes to mind (Kenyon's on his way...maybe Elton). People always say that if you were to construct the ideal basketball body, KG would be it. Well, we've got the ideal body, now it is up to JVG and Patrick to teach the fundamentals of positioning and rebounding...ultimately, untapping the potential that so many of us believe EG possesses. The more and more I think about it, the more and more I feel like bringing in another PF would hinder EG's development. LET EDDIE GROW!
Irregardless is not a word, as far as I'm concerned. it sounds moronic and is internally redundant. Why not just say regardless? The only thing that irritates me more than "irregardless" is the overuse and misuse of "myself". Damn stupid athletes on ESPN.
no, the only thing more irritating that "irregardless" is people referring to themselves in the 3rd person. damn stupid athletes on ESPN.
I have a feeling that the new coaching staff is going to do wonders for EG. In Rudy's system he was always relying on someone sitting on the outside to jack up a three when one of the three scorers (Ming, Francis, Mobley) were covered. So EG was doomed to sit on the outside a lot of the time. I credit RudyT with EG's bad paint presence. JVG will, IMO, be screaming his head off at EG if he sits on the outside like he did half the time last year. I look for him to really go inside a lot this year. JVG's teams have always made the best of the talent they had in the post. Oak, Camby, LJ, Thomas all were made better post players under JVG.
oh, and in response to your subject matter... i think JVG has the opportunity to turn mo taylor into a near allstar player. seriously. motay has the offensive skills to compete with any power forward in the league. no one has ever doubted that. his problem, however, is JVG's forte: toughness. that toughness (or the lack thereof) is exposed in motay's rebounding and one-on-one defense. if JVG can get motay to board more and body up to his man better, is there a difference between motay and chris webber?? they'd virtually be the same. eddie griffin is in a position to absorb knowledge from JVG. under rudy, i always got the distinct impression that griff was just learning on his own. no real direction...no real purpose. just kind of floating...usually at the three point line. under JVG, i expect griffin to have direction. i expect griff to be told to rebound, play defense, and go balls out every damn play, else the bench awaits. until he develops physically, these are the only tasks, imo, that griff can consistently succeed at.
Passing ability, and I don't won't to get into an argument about whether or not he's a good passer because there is no power forward that sees the court like Webber, and even if Mo played better defense he still wouldn't be the rebounder that Chris is.
not true. motay is a hell of an athlete. he's just one year removed from a torn achilles tendon and competing against the best in the world. a year removed from what has been a career ending injury for many people, yet is one of the more difficult covers in the nba. chris webber is a fundamentally poor, yet athletically gifted power forward, whose advantages over motay are a) his aggressiveness/motivation; b) his passing ability and c) his girlfriend. there's no question who the better player is. it's c-webb. but, if motay were more mo-aggressive, the difference between the two would be very small.
