When the parade of coaches come through and talk of the talent here in Houston we hear Yao and Steve, sometimes Cat. No one ever mentions Eddie. Is EG's stock so low that he is not even an afterthought? The man has some skills and some upside. Doesn't he?
All I have to say is that no one EVER said anything about Jermaine O'Neal possibly being a building block for a team during his early years on the Blazers.
Even when O'Neal started getting time, you could see he was going to be a good low block player. His footwork was good , he was a very good athelete and seemed to have a good work ethic. I said the same about Randolph before he started getting good minutes in Portland. When looking at big guys, you look at hands first, because thats something that can't be taught, and footwork which could be taught. Watch Randolph play and you can see he has both, just like O'Neal has both. The problem or the reason why O'Neal was traded was because he had a all star in Wallace ahead of him at the 4, a very solid rotation of Grant and Sabonis at the 5 and even Pippen was still effective. If the Blazers would have kept him and moved Wallace to the 3 and pippen to the point, then they wouldn't have traded O'Neal. Thats pretty much what they'll do this yr with Randolph, who is a true pf and Wallace who is more than capable at the 3 spot. All these argument comparing Griffin to O'Neal is way off base. He's not even close in terms of footwork, shot selection, or even atheleticism. Eddie Griffin can turn into a Donyell Marshall type of guy with hard work, but I don't he'll ever be as skilled as some of the good 4's in the league right now.
Griffin is way too emotional emotional on the court for my tastes. The dude needs to calm down on the court.
I think Rudy and Carroll thought they were getting another Jermaine O'Neal when they paid Cato all that money.
You hit that out of the park! It's now up to Griffin to step up and show why he was worth the trading away of 3 draft picks. If he falters again this season, he'll be tagged with the BUST label for good.
Griffin does sux (but he was considered the BEST guy in the draft) but nobody knew that RJ would be that good and I bet you if he was in Houston that he would not be this good!! He is that good ONLY cause of Kidd!!
He was only considered the best guy in the draft by the Rockets, who never saw a soft, jump shooting big man they didn't like.
i dont know about eddie, but RJ is being exposed in the finals. a complete afterthought, never hit a clutch shot in his life.
It seems everyone forgets that Jefferson is a HORRIBLE three point shooter, which would make him just about worthless in the Rockets offense.
I actually saw many people disappointed when it took 7 picks to get to Griffin and saw Kwame go first!
Maybe in the Rudy T offense. When I watched the Rockets last year it looked like they had a problem putting the ball in the basket from mid range (as evidenced by the entire team standing by the 3p line), and thats exactly what Jefferson would do for them.
For my 1,000th post, I shall ask the continuing but burning question: Does anybody know whether Eddie has had success in putting on more muscle and whether he is getting summer coaching on his flat shot and footwork around the basket?
and whether the plan is to actually develop EG or senf him to the Knicks (or elsewhere) for someone else?
I'm disappointed with Eddie, but I don't regret the absence of Jefferson as I maintain that Jefferson wouldn't have fit the Rockets. However, I will say this in favor of Jefferson. I think the guy's a hard worker, while Eddie seems to be lazy. I can forgive Eddie for not achieving on the court, but if a new coach can't get him to care about his game, then trade him or bury him on the bench. He may become something someday, but I'm not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt if he doesn't do what it takes to improve.
