No joke here ladies. Although still early in the season and just scratching the surface of Eddie Griffin's career, I want your thoughts on the possibility that Eddie could end up being a better overall player than our beloved Franchise. Already he is showing that he can play legit defense, hit from anywhere on the floor and rebound. The only thing that hasn't really surfaced is a great passing game simply because he hasn't had the need to do so with Francis and The Mooch manning the dime slot. I think years from now, if these guys are still in Rockets uni's, EG will be the man on this team. Can Francis' and Mobley's ego handle it?? Hopefully "The Ring" will keep these boys together because the future looks great.
i knew someone would end up posting this soon...i was thinking about posting it, myself...you just beat me to it! i agree...i think EG has a very legit chance of being better than Francis. it's hard to compare PG with F/C, but you can look at their relative impact on the game. If EG is going to get much better than what he's showing right now, it's clear he'll be high-point man on this team nearly every night. He will almost certainly be a better all-around player since Francis doesn't seem committed to playing serious defense. So if you compare relative worth, I think it's very easy to see some scenarios whereby EG becomes more valuable to the Rockets than Francis.
I think they're the same player just different heights. Francis does the same thing Griffin does, its just that Francis is 6'3 and Griffin is 6'10. Thats what i said when I wanted more players like Francis, except taller. To compete night in and night out in the west, you need good big man play and thats what Griffin has been giving us.
I think that if you have two players who have the perfect bodies for their positions - as Francis and Griffin seem to - it's easier for the person closer to the basket to excel. It's just a really easy game for Griffin right now: - Francis and Moochie get him easy shots - it's easy for him to shoot over almost anybody - he's just a natural at blocking shots The only problem he has at all are nerves and rushing some shots. At the same time - he is making the game so much easier for Steve and Cuttino. Anyone notice that 50% of Cat's shots now are wide open threes? The game is much more fun when the other team can't shut us down by keying on our guards.
I think he's got a ways to go to be as good as Steve, mostly on the offensive end. All of his points now come via dunks and put backs, and the occasional wide open three. He doesn't get to the line much, and we can't tell if he has any low post moves or short range jumper. Steve has proven he can score just about any way he pleases, is clutch at the line, rebounds, defends, etc. Eddie has the potential to be better, but to say he and Steve are the same player, just different heights, seems a bit of a stretch. I hope they both get better and lead us to the promised land.
Does Griffin have any dribble skills? Has he shown the ability to put the ball on floor and drive past a defender? I haven't seen too many games that he's plaid it but with him hitting these 3's it would seem that teams would start playing up tighter around that 3 point line.
In the last few games Eddie has but the ball on the floor to move ahead of a defender and then shoot his outside shot but he has yet to drive it to the basket. I think it was against Utah that Eddie but the ball on the floor at the arc drove past his man and pulled up for the jumper. He missed the shot but he could have easily drove all the way to the basket as there was no one in his way. I still consider that improvement though since last month he would have passed the ball as soon as the defender came up on him.
I don't know who will end up being better than who, but I do know that you won't have to worry about steve's ego. as it is, they have to try to convince him to shoot more than he does. if you need to worry about anyone, it would be mobley. but I have faith in the felinic one. I think cat just wants to win, and if the Rockets get to a point where they can ride griff to the bucket 25 times a night, I think mobes will go along to get along. that's just my theory. . .
It's as simple as this analogy (maybe a bad one): Steve is our battery. Our offense is setup by Steve. Without him, we go nowhere. Eddie is our alternator. He doesn't innitiate anything but keeps the offense/defense going and in the flow of the game. It is a perfect fit. Dare I say Stock/Malone? I wouldn't call one better as they compliment each other perfectly. Rudy/CD are gods.
I guess Mobley is Hornacek? Morris canBryon Russell, and OT is Shandersn, with O of course. Cato can pass for OysterFat. Who are Moochie, Taylor, and Rice? (Side note: Francis, Mobley, and Griffin can be clutch, unlike Stockton-Malone)
Without a doubt Steve is the better player right now and will probably continue to be the leader of this team once Griffin matures into the player he can become. I can remember being really worried about Minnesota when they had Garnett and Marbury for their first few seasons, I see a very similar situation unfolding here with Griff and Franchise. I think that Francis' game will become much easier when he has a low post threat and Cat on the wing to take the pressure off of him. If we can keep these guys together we should be able to compete with any other team in the league.
Calling Stock/Malone not clutch is not what I would say. Afterall, Stock knocked our asses out in 95 (right?). But I think Grif and Steve have more flexibility. I hate to say more potential given the long careers but hopefully will have better results.
Honestly, I see more similarities to the T-Wolves when they had Marbury and Garnett. I don't think Steve's going to bail like Marbury did because Steve isn't even close to the ballhog Marbury is/was...
Or who cares? Let's just be happy that we will likely have 2 superstars to build around (I'm sure Laker fans don't give a crap whether Shaq is better than Kobe or Kobe is better than Shaq) with excellent other starters in Mobley, MoTaylor and KT, as well as Rice, Mooch, Torres, Cato, Willis, Walt, TMo all on a deep bench. Even though KT isn't really a SF and Griffin says he is, it doesn't even really matter. Griffin comes in at center all the time and KT and MoTay both played at the same time many times last season, as both have good range for their size and can be interchanged at the forward positions. Francis/Mobley/Thomas/Taylor/Griffin Francis/Mobley/Taylor/Thomas/Griffin... ...still my dream lineup
Steve is in his third season. It is often said that it takes three full seasons to learn how to be a PG. Besides, why does any of them have to be The Man? Robinson, Cassell, and Allen. I don't regard any of them as The Man. With Francis, Mobley and Griffin, we'll need 2 solid role players that play TOUGH D to compliment them. Like Bruce Bowen and Ervin Johnson type of players. It's very possible that if Cato continues to show the effort he's showing so far this season throughout the whole seaoson, he could be our C. Who knows, maybe T-Mo will become our SF. He rebounds, passes, and defends well. Any scoring he brings would be a plus. With Rice out this season, and Walt not playing well, he might get minutes and blossom just like Griffin. Cato Griffin T-Mo Mobley Francis with a bench consisting of: Norris(PG), Torres(SG/SF), Rice(SF), MoT(PF/C), Collier(C) That is an EXCELLENT shotblocking team. When/if Cato regains his confidence after this season, I'm positive his shotblocking will much improve. I really really like that team to be a top 3 team in 2004. It would also cap what would be a incredibly succesful 2002 draft where we'll have picked up 2 starters and a key bench player.
It's like comparing apples and oranges. Francis has a few more apples to Griffin's oranges , but that might mean Eddie's oranges aren't ripe just yet.
