i love the guy and he is producing everything we need. now my question to you is...who will start when kt & mo come back? i was going to ask if either kt or mo would start next year but now it seams eddie will challenge for it too. my vote is for griff and keep kt as a backup. to me mo is the odd man out and should be moved in favor of a center who can rebound well, block a decent amount of shots, and make a freakin lay-up.
Eddie will grow and we'll use him at center. mo will start at 4 and kenny backing him up. With the new zone defense, it doesn't really matter what lineups you put out there, but they have to work. Heck, we could put Mo at 5 or even Kenny.
I've been thinking about this lately also. It's good the Rockets have options but you have to wonder exactly how they will solve it eventually. It's a good problem to have. I'm not sure EG will ever be a center unless the NBA continues to recruit really bad centers like it has been doing, but it isn't inconceivable to see him on the floor at center with Taylor and Rice. It also isn't impossible to see him playing a sort of shared 3/4 with Taylor, especially considering how he can knock down the outside shot. It wouldn't work against every team, but it isn't an impossibility. I think that EG play 3, 4 or 5 and Taylor could double at 4 and 5 in just about any given situation and Rudy loves guys that can play multiple positions.
Idealy, I would have EG playing the 3 if he can work on his ball handling skills because having a guy his size running the floor and shooting threes would be unstoppable. I dont think any of the three could play center well. I think we will end up trading either KT or Mo, although i'm undesided on who as of yet.
NBA recruiting bad centers? I think you meant, there's a dearth of talented players at the center position. Otherwise, you make it sound like there are a lot of good centers going undrafted. It looks like Eddie could play like Kevin Garnett, another monster sized 3/4 or if he puts on weight a 5. Also, instead of getting rid of anybody, we just bench Walt and Rice for the remainder of their guaranteed Rocket careers and rotate Mo, Cato, KT, Oscar and Eddie at 3-4-5, where appropriate.
How can anyone sit here during this 15 game losing streak on injuries and bad center play and think that we have an odd man out. We need them all!! Kenny, Mo and Eddie. All of them! How does this team have an odd man out? Especially considering that Walt, Willis and Rice are not longterm? I just don't get it. You keep your good players and build a system around them. Kenny, Mo and Griffin are good. And even with them our frontline still in not great because of our center position. We are not a center team, and trading these guys likely won't make us one. Thus, we need all three.
Why can't EG be center? He's got the shotblockin and reboundin that other centers can DREAM about already. It's assumed that he will put on muscle, and that he still might grow another inch or two before it's all said and done. I dont feel anybody will be the odd man out. Both Mo, KT, Eddie, (dare I say Cato?) are young and improving.
Another thing that we must remember about developing Eddie Griffen is whether the added muscles will hinder his quickness. The way I see it, Eddie Griffin is most effective setting the pick for Mobley, Moochie, (and Francis once he returns). When one of these dribblers runs into a double team, dish it out to Griffin for the 3 or an easy mid-range shot. His hussle and tenacity on D will surely be useful for another good 10 years; but for now, Rudy should utilize our quick guards by running a sort of Anti-Zone Iso play. These are the futures of our franchise: Francis, Mobely, Griffin Swisher p.s. Was it just me or did the Walt Williams really look like a valuable asset to our team? Maybe he really does fit in on this team...
Contract or not, I think Mo is the odd man out. Kenny is a Malik Rose type of bench player which would fit good in that role. I think when taylor comes back, he will be given minutes at the 5 spot, but eventually, i think he'll be traded. Eddie is a better defender and rebounder already than Taylor and I think its hard to have a guy like taylor and his salary on the bench. Thomas is a bench player, but a good one. Hopefully Taylor and Cato will have some trade value when duncan gets free. I still didn't like the shots he was getting, but he hit them and we won. I just don't see him or taylor checking a 3 man in this league. Can you say Wally Pip?
Hey don't forget to throw in Oscar. He has been terrific as a rookie. If we can get this guy signed for next year then we might just have one of the best Rookie classes in the history of this team. I love the way both Eddie and Oscar play. Neither ever looks paniced or rushed and both seem to really play with in themselves. These two IMO are the perfect combo for the up tempo very loud, very excitable and very vocal duo of Francis and Cat. Both Eddie and Oscar almost seem like throw back players, they never say a word or celebrate too much on the court you never see them argue or say anything to the officials they just play ball. BTW I still think TMo is going to be an excellent player. I like the way he hustles, plays defense and goes after rebounds. When his offense starts clicking we will be an excellent 3 at 6'9" IMO.
I think the team will eventually trade Mo. Right now, they can keep him on the team until Griffen matures more, but eventually Mo will need to be traded to make room for Griffen just like Shandon was traded to make room for Cat. Griffen seems very comfortable at the 4 position and I think moving him to center would be a mistake. He's too small to play the 5 and having him play the 3 means he'll be away from the basket guarding the opposing teams small forward. Kenny Thomas produces the same numbers as Taylor and he hustles, rebounds better, and is much cheaper. The problem is, would any team want Taylor and his large contract?
Snow i still dont see EG as a center. Yes he can block the livin f*** outa people, but y cant he be a monster 4 that does that? I still wanna see him as our next KG, that monster thats everywhere. As a center, he'd be struggling w/ the 300 pounders of the league, but if he got to mess around KG style, hed be dominant.
Some of you guys are forgetting the fact that EG's only 19 years old & has reportedly grown an inch, since draft day. At this age, his body is still growing & I would fully expect him to be a legitimate 6'11" by the beginning of next season. He's listed at 220 lbs for now. If I were Rudy, I'd insist that CD resign Willis & then assign Willis the task of bulking EG up during the off season. EG could easily add 30 pounds of rock solid muscle this off season, if he works with Willis & Falsone. That'd put him at 6'11" 250+ lbs. & it's a possibility that he could grow 2-3 inches by next year. Cato's 6'11' 255 lbs., so that would make Griffin (size wise) a legitimate NBA center. Imagine Cato with good hands & hustle, then you'll have the EG of the future. He's definitely the center of the future for the Rockets. That would leave Taylor/KT/Willis to man the PF position. You'd have Griffin/Willis/Cato/Collier to choose from for the center position. I could see a lineup of: C: Griffin/Cato/Willis/Collier PF: Taylor/KT/Willis SF: Torres/Rice/T-Mo or Langhi SG: Mobley/Francis PG: Francis/Moochie/Brown This is Langhi's last year & he's an unrestricted FA. The Rockets would be foolish to let a 6'11" SF with good shooting skills just walk. He could be resigned & put on the IL, but after his recent complaint, I doubt that he'd accept that. I wouldn't be surprised to see an off season trade that could involve any combination of Cato/Collier/KT/Langhi/Moochie/Brown/Rice, if it improves the club.
I've missed a lot of good games recently. Can anyone give me an idea of what type of shots Eddie's been getting? I'm interested in learning more about Eddie's interior offensive game, the percentage of opportunities he's had in there lately, and how successful it's been. Or has he just been connecting on open jumpers? I hope Eddie can play '5'. Maybe he wouldn't be a true '5,' but I could see a longterm lineup starting Eddie, Mo with Cato, some other 5 coming off the bench. It probably wouldn't be Cato, though, because I have a feeling that he'd start sulking again once relegated to the bench.
