Well, just because Griffin said Rudy thinks he should be a 3, doesn't mean that Rudy thinks he should be a 3. Rudy keeps saying he's 'definitely' a 4. Did Rudy have a change of heart? Is Griffin projecting his desires on Rudy? I don't know, so I'm waiting for the horse's mouth. As for the glut at PF with Taylor, Thomas, and Griffin, what about the glut at SF with Rice, Williams, Morris, Langhi and (part-time) Torres? We're talking down the road, so Langhi probably will be gone (judging from his PT in garbage time). People think Williams will be gone, but I'm not so sure. We'll still have Rice for awhile. Morris and Torres will still be here as well, most likely. If you wanted to move a PF somewhere where we have a shortage of people, it's center. And, if you were to pick a PF who was most likely able to make the change, it'd be Griffin.
Maybe Rudy instructed Eddie to say that so Mo wouldn't feel insecure. People have mentioned that Mo might be worried about his starting position when he comes back if Eddie continues averaging 20/12. Yeah, that's it; the Rockets just don't want to alienate Mo. Eddie doesn't really want to play SF; he wants to play center. He really wants to play center; he just doesn't want to say it because he doesn't want to get people's hopes up. Yeah, yeah. He's teasing the fans with long jumpers because he wants everyone to be surprised when he unleashes his awesome low post game. Silly fans. Trix are for kids. Ha ha, good joke, Eddie, Rudy. Youz guys are funnie. <chuckle> Soz funny. I love youz guyz, you know? You guyz are the best friendz a closet-Jazz fan in Houston could have. Hee hee. <hiccup!> yeah. Go Rocketz!
I wouldnt mind EG as a 3! imagine this line up and all the match ups! Cato- C MOt- PF EG- SF Mb- SG Franchise- PG put this line up against Lakers Cato- Shaq Mot- Samaki or Horry EG- RICK FOX! (EG will crush him) Mob- Kobe Francis- Fisher Rocs could win that game
ur kidding rite? of course EG ca be better the KG. Just like they said be4. If he developes some more b-handling skills and gins maybe at least 15 pounds, he probably will be better.
Actually, now that I think about it, you're probably right. If EG develops his jumper a bit more, gets some better handles, better court vision, grows 3 inches, installs bionic legs that make him jump higher, and grows an extra arm then yea...I guess you could be right.
1st- EG has a better 3 point shot then KG and probably a complete better shot. 2cd- KG isnt a great ball handler either. 3rd- i dunno about court vision he seems fine 2 me. 4th- EG IS 6'10! KG is 6'11, (i doubt that, mayb 6'10) 5th- EG can jump, hes already the block leader afterbarely playing. 6th- extra arm? Hes already blocked shaq and kobe, all thats left is KG and Vince. No doubt KG is great, but so wil EG if he continues 2 work.
Jeff, No slam here, but explain to me your logic for making Griffin a 5. I don't see it. Unless he grows to about 6'11" or taller, and gains about 40 pounds, he'll get his but kicked in the Western Conference. I can see him as a finesse 4, or a Garnett 3-4, but a 5-no way! Griffin is a stud 3 in a few years or a solid 4, but if he played 5 the league would have to create a weight limit for players in the paint. Do you really want Griffin to become Theo Ratliff? P1st, S2nd.
I agree with everything but the theo thing. I dunno if he's injury prone but he is very good and still very young.
I don't think he would make a good 5 but what I meant was that I would like it if he became one simply because it would be easier on the Rockets that way. He will make 6'11" (he might make 7'0") and he'll hopefully add 15 to 20 pounds but I agree that I see him more as a KG 3/4 type player too.
Ok, I don't really understand this <b>necessity</b> for Griffin to grow to 6'11 or up to play center. Is there some kind of rule saying that you cannot play center unless you're at least 6'11? fact - Griffin has some very long arms, which should easily make up for any deficiencies in height. fact - Griffin is athletic and can jump, also making up part of any deficiencies in height. fact - Griffin is already one of the top shotblockers in this league (ranks 20th in shotblocks per 48 minutes, and 8th among rookies in shotblocks per 48 minutes), and is still <b>improving</b> in that area. fact - Griffin can already board well. fact - Griffin will probably grow anyway, but at 6'10, his height is good enough for center. He's doing all this at 19 years of age, weighing only 220, 225 pounds. I agree that he does <b>have to</b> put on some muscle, but he does not have to grow to 6'11 or 7'0 in order to be a great center. Everybody has to put on muscle when they come in the league (especially 19 year olds), so I don't think it would be too difficult at all for him to become a center. And what's so bad about Ratliff? If we had a center of Ratliff's calibur (and we weren't all injured), we'd be one of the top teams in the west easily. If Griffin puts on the weight, he will <b>easily</b> be even better than Ratliff! Already, at this stage in Griffin's career, he already has a better offensive game than Ratliff (much better shot), and with proper weight training, can match Theo Ratliff defensively.
ooh, ooh, hypothetical relativism. In the case of the Rockets, talent SHOULD supersede assumed designation. Just put the 3 best frontcourt players out there, preferrably Torres, Taylor and Griffin. Taylor and Griffin's weaknesses are cancelled out by each other's strengths. Taylor makes up for Griffin's lack of bulk (we can play Mo on the bigger centers like Shaq, Divac, Robinson), just as Griffin makes up for Taylor's lack of rebounding/non-existent inside presence. I just hope politics don't play a part in allocation of playing time when the team is completely healthy. (ie: Rice's and Taylor's contracts, Cato's fragile ego) Oh, and Griffin is not, and will not be, a small forward, despite my adamant objections to the contrary this past summer We won't ever see a Taylor, Cato, Griffin front-court imo, unless we're in a zone, and our zone is about the saddest, and most ineffective in the league, lol.
Supposedly, Griffin's insistence that he was a SF and not a PF was one of the reasons why Golden State passed on him. (I forget where I heard that, or how reliable the source was.) I don't think "romance" is involved -- it's usually a preference for not getting beaten up by larger players. If you were someone like Webber, Tim Duncan, or Rasheed Wallace, would you rather dominate smaller guys at PF or spend half your time wrestling with 7-foot centers on both ends of the court? (One of the reasons Wallace's FG% has dropped this year is that with Sabonis retired, other teams are putting their biggest defender on Rasheed.) For "natural" SGs who prefer to play PG, I think another factor (besides not being posted up by the likes of Kobe and Vince) is the desire to handle the ball on nearly every play.
