Since I havent posted in here really in quite some time. Thought Id drop by and say way to Go Rudy T, Carroll Dawson, and Les Alexander. Is there any doubt that these 3 guys are very commited to bringing to Houston whatever it took to make them winners. On to other things. Im am extremely excited about picking up Eddie in the draft. And even very much liked the pick up of T. Morris. But I still want to Rox to win this year. I still want to see them in the playoffs this year. And right now Shandon Anderson is the Rox best option, at least for now. (Somewhere right now, Heyp. has his fingers in search and destroy mode.) But heres some fodder for us to chew on. I can live with Cat starting at the two. His play last year deserves it. But to think Griffin is going to move into the the starting 3 spot and roll along in his first or second year is pushing it. Heres something to remember. K Garnett needed a huge second half push to even average 10 ppg his first year. Kobe barely averaged 7 ppg his first year. Now Eddie may be a huge pick up and all, but to believe, at least now that he is on Kobes or KG's level is outrageous. If you let SA just leave the Rox sg/sf rotation includes W Williams who absolutely needs to go, Ive been saying from day 1 he was this bad, and hes done nothing but prove it. Dan Langhi, who isnt ready, may never be ready, Matt Bullard who couldnt even make good on his one dimension last year, and E Griffin. I know, I know. Throw him in the fire and let him learn. I can appreciate that too. But to believe E Griff is going to even live up to potential before hes even played a game would be short sighted of the Rox. I say, sign SA, or at least a servicable sg/sf to take some of the pressure off of E Griff in case the honeymoon doesnt go well. By all means do not let him go to a conference rival if at all possible. No No No No. Anyhow. Damn am I ready for the season. Go Rox. And BTW. NBA Street Sux. It sux bad. Its immensely flawed and do I ever wish I didnt buy it, but they did make Francis the Man in that game. ------------------ "I have amazing, powers of observation"...Pink
Maybe..... oh, and welcome home! -------------------- "I have become comfortably numb!" God, I hate the off season! ------------------
HELLO,hello, hello... Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can here me Is there anybody home? Dreamshake, I agree. Some people here see EG as the next KG right NOW. Not gonna happen. That being said, I don't think Anderson is really needed. Sure, Walt sux, but in Rudy's scheme, all he has to do is hit that outside shot. If he can do that till EG is ready, then great. Then, after the season, we let Walt's salary drop off the books, instead of Anderson taking up capspace. ------------------ It looks like a veteran can Be had.
I agree with most of what you said but I do think Eddie has a chance to be a super star in this league in the class of Kobe and maybe KG but only time will tell. Some people keep comparing Eddie to players coming straight out of H.S. but he did have a year dominating some very good college compitition. This is something neither Kobe nor KG had. I think Eddie is definitely more propared for the pro ranks than any high schooler could possibly be. Another thing Darius Miles avg'd almost 10 pts a game last year and I don't think their is any question that Eddie is much more physically ready this year than Miles was last year. I agree 100% with you about Bull and Walt. Its time to cut the strings with these two. I am one of those that thinks Langhi deserves more PT but even if he can't do it then we have a four year college player in Morris that should be able to make a serious contribution. I don't like the idea of shandon guarding any of the bigger 3s in the league like Marion, Lewis or Nowitzki as he is just over matched against them. I think Morris will prove to be a better option than Shandon at the three if just for defensive reasons. ------------------
I cant imagine a scenario where E Griff averages more than 9 or so ppg. With him being 4th maybe 5th option on O if he cracked the starting lineup, behind Franchise, Mobley, Taylor, and Hakeem if resigned. What I hope to see from him is some rebounding, blocks that lead to transition points, and an ability to spread the floor from the paint. Right now, the Rox have absolutely no one who is a threat to thunder one down from the post on a put back, or a terror in the post. Defenses are going to lock Francis and Mobley up with zones that start up around the free throw line, and extend out to the three point line. The rox are going to need an inside threat. Hopefully E Griff can fill that role. ------------------ "I have amazing, powers of observation"...Pink
EG WILL average more than 9 ppg....no doubt imm! ------------------ Rarely is the question asked: Guns kill squirrels than REDRUM to fools across the nation?
Comparing Griffin to Bryant or Garnett is an inherently flawed process because Griffin had an extra year of seasoning in college that those two did not. While it may not sound like much, players like Shareef Abdur-Rahim show that one year of college can adequately prepare you to become an everyday player in the professional ranks and in fact have an immediate impact on a team. ------------------ Don't ask, I lost a bet.
Dreamshake: Griffin had one of the 10 best freshmen years... ever, as far as I can tell. He was just so versatile: handled the ball, shot it well, played terrific defense, and led the league in blocked shots. Lamar Odom didn't have nearly as good freshman year. Yet he contended for rookie of the year immediately. Other players: like Iverson, SAR, etc, have made a quick transition. Elton Brand WAS the rookie of the year after 2 seasons. Stevie Francis was the ROY after 1 season of div IA ball. The transition isn't nearly as big from college to the pro game as it is from hs. ------------------ Clutchcity.net... source for all your Rockets, Astros, political, music, humor, and Gordita news.
Dreamshake, is that you? You are absolutely right except that I think Eddie might average a tad more than 7 points per. I think he could hit 12 with two or three 20 point games. Good to hear from you though. ------------------ Eddie...at the buzzer...YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!...OH MOTHER!!!! ---2002 NBA Western Conference Finals vs LA Lakers
Haven...Look at what E Griff did against the better compition last year. I think in 5 games against teams like G Town, and Mich State (to name a few) he shot around 28-30 percent. One noted flaw to his game was that his "superior" numbers came in bulk against the St Petes of the college world. Also, Brand had 2 years, twice what E Griff had, playing in a conference that is as close to NBA competition as College ball has. Also he got those numbers in the east where Jermaine O'Neal, Marcus Camby, and a slew of other 1/2 rate centers roam. Lets see his numbers now that he has some teammates, and playing in the west. Francis played 3 years of College ball. Thats triple the preparation. Iverson is the league MVP, and a threat for 30 a game. I dont think anyone here is willing to put E Griff in Iversons league coming out of college. Not even close. SAR is one to note though, but lets remember. He had to be the man on the Grizz. With a team that bad, someone had to put up the numbers. Not that SAR couldn't of otherwise, but CMon. I believe Big Country once averaged close to 15 and 8 a game for them. Inherantly SAR had to be unskilled (relatively speaking) not to of put up his kind of numbers his first year. Hey Almu...Ive been around. Just reading the site. Havent seen much of the old school posting lately. Wheres Azim the Dream, Tod the Bod, Will, Kagy, and Jenna (umm thats right I remember what happened to Jenna) been? Things sure have changed in here. Its all about the post count now. Someone tell these newbies that its not the size of the post counts that matter but the flow and quality of the post counts. ------------------ "I have amazing, powers of observation"...Pink
Hey Dreamshake, I've got a serious question. What's wrong with NBA Street? It looks like a really awesome game on tv, but then again every playstation 2 game looks good. Why does this one suck though? It looked promising... ------------------ This post contains no smilies, you must judge my seriousness on your own... 361 days until the Band Geek Mobster is unleashed once again...unless I have more posts with this name of course... [This message has been edited by Pete Rose Mobster (edited July 09, 2001).]
Dreamshake, Teams played a "box and 1" on Griffin throughout the year to try to shut him down, and against the better coached teams, like Michigan State, it's not surprising that he would struggle. Also, unlike the other players you mentioned, Eddie isn't being asked to carry the team, like Brand and Iverson were, and he doesn't have anyone who's better than him on the depth chart, like Jermaine O'neal did in Portland. I think his role on this team is so clear cut, and well within his abilities, that he should have no problem providing the impact most of us expect from him. ------------------ Ya ot be opredelennyj chelovek zhivoj
I'm sure you don't remember this, and I can't find it on a search, but you ignored and insulted me because I called you out on something. Your response was something like "Look 'junior' don't try to talk to me, you don't know jack." I had less than 30 posts at the time. That was 2500 posts ago. So now my opinion matters? I'm not trying to be antagonistic, just pointing out the hypocrasy in your post. ------------------ It looks like a veteran can Be had. [This message has been edited by Newbiehad (edited July 09, 2001).]
Amen. There was a lot less crap on this board back in '97. Having said that, it's still the best on net. Nice to see your name again Dreamshake. ------------------ It's Clutch's City and we're all just living in it...
great to here a post from ya Shake don't disappear again ------------------ "The things I enjoy most, I suck at: 1) Sex: everything's fine until she makes noises." - Achebe
I think another thing people should keep in perspective is that Eddie Griffin had a spectacular freshmen season against watered down competition. The talent level in the Big East and in college basketball in general is rather poor. It's not like back in 1996 when Iverson and Abdur-Rahim's were around. With the mass exodus of underclassmen and high school student has left the college game with fewer and fewer impact NBA players. The Big East was very below average at best this year. As oppose to years past, there was not ONE standout team. Red flags should be noted that Griffin generally struggled against a relatively weak conference. And comparing him to past standout freshmen is tough. Abdur-Rahim played against superior talents compared to Griffin. The PAC-10 was tough back then in 1996 as it always is. UCLA was coming off a championship season with some talent players returning and Arizona was a rising team that would win the championship the follow year with the addition of Mike Bibby. It was a league full of real good players. Lamar Odom was much more spectacular as a freshmen than Eddie Griffin. He hit two game winning shots at the buzzer that year for his team. Including one in the Atlantic-10 tournament that sent them to the NCAA tournament. His first college game, he was an assist shy of a triple double against a ranked TCU team. He put up great numbers for a good team that went to the tournament. I believe that counts for a lot. Tim Thomas in the 1996-1997 season had a great freshmen season at Villanova. Again he did it against superior competition. Finished either 1st or 2nd team All-Big East. And was an honorable mention All-American for a team that went to the tournament. He was ranked as a top 5 high school prospect just like Griffin. He was drafted 7th just like Griffin. His game has some similarities to EG. He managed to struggle mightily his first few seasons in the league. Allen Iverson had 2 years of seasoning in one of the most prosperous, talent filled times for the Big East. The Big E featured 3 of the top 15 teams in the land with Connecticut(with Ray Allen, Donny Marshall), Villanova( with Alvin Williams, Kerry Kittles), and Georgetown (with Allen Iverson, Othella Harrington, Jerome Williams, Jahidi White). Don't get me wrong, I love Eddie Griffin. I was ecstatic about getting him, because I honestly feel he will be a very, very good player in this league. But I'm not expecting the world out of him from the start. He might really struggle his first season. I don't want Rocket fans to be quick to label him as an outright bust if he does struggle like a Tim Thomas, who was exiled out of Philly in his 2nd season. There are a couple of warning signs with Griffin. He shot only 42% from the field, which is pretty bad for a big man. He struggled against good competition. He struggled in a down year for Big East competition. It's obvious that he has some growing to do. ------------------
Back on topic...... How do you think the new defensive rules will effect Eddie's transition into the NBA? Seems to me that it might make things a bit smoother for him. Perhaps help him towards averaging the double-digit figures that seem like such a pipe-dream right now? ------------------ Gascon
The point of Dreamshake's post is that if we don't re-sign Anderson, we are in deep trouble at the small forward spot, and there's a good chance our record will be worse next year than last year (assuming we don't pick up any other free agents besides our own). And Da Man is really scaring me with that insight. [This message has been edited by TheFreak (edited July 09, 2001).]
DS, You must admit that defensive stud athletes like Anderson and Horry have little trouble translating that skill to the NBA. Horry did just fine starting for us his rookie yr and doing humble, opportunistic scoring. All that we needed was his defense. Many here would say that Horry's 1st two years are better than Anderson's last two, especially AS A SMALL FORWARD. We can attribute that simply to the difference in height. Likewise, Griffin is a defensive athlete, and he is significantly taller than Shandon. Some will counter to say that Anderson knows the system and his role. Seems that he does not agree. "I am not a spot-up shooter." "We need to change to up-tempo." For me, it is a safe enough bet to figure Griffin can play ball in transition RIGHT NOW. It is also a safe bet that Griffin can play defense and rebound better than Horry his 1st two season (and even better than Shandon can against SFs). We do not need Griffin to hit his potential to play him at SF aheand of Shandon. We just need him to play equal to better defense, and equal to better up-tempo transitional offense. The main reason to look at it this way is to ask yourself: How much are you going to spend on Shandon to cover the case that Griffin can't play defense like Horry his 1st yr? To me, it is a needless luxury to spend $4.5m on Shandon to tutor Griffin when we need to be saving money on a future center acquisition sometime in the next year or 2. Giving Shandon a Fegan payday is too much money to invest in one position for a team that does not have a center for the future.
I say any warning signs spotted in stats are entirely offset by Rudy and his entire scouting staff placing Griffin number ONE on their draft board. They had him as first pick. That means a lot to me, moreso than any stats anyone can find.
