On Defense Taylor will play the Power forwards. But on offense Taylor plays more of an outside game than a banger. So Griffin plays the quick SF on Defense and he plays the banger post up PF position on Offense. Man, this team is going to be so exciting! ------------------
Why is everybody so intent on Griffin moving to PF in a few years!? Why not develop him and keep him at SF! A SF who also plays like a PF causes matchup nightmares! Plus it saves his body. Instead of forcing him to put tons of weight on him to help him bang with the PFs of the West, he only has to put a few more pounds on and can take full advantage of his perimeter game and athletic ability and rebounding instead of forcing him to bang every night. ------------------ "Win if you can, lose if you must but always cheat!" - Jesse Ventura
I don't think we are going to have to force him to add any weight. He is only 19 and already 221 lbs. Thats 1 inch shorter and 4 lbs lighter than Theo Ratliff. If he were already 22 like TRock I would say he is through growing but not at 19. ------------------
Interesting point crash!! Is Griffin still growing? If he can grow 2or 3 more inches he'd be so much better. So if Griffin grows to 6'11" or 7'0", forget about moving him to power forward, let's talk about moving him to center. Great post up game, athletic, rebounding, blocks. An heir apparent to Hakeem!! Imagine this line up in 3 years. Center-Griffin PF- Taylor SF - Morris SG - Mobley PG - Francis But, I'd like Griffin as the Center or the SF!! Not the Power forward. ------------------
That's a great point. I keep forgetting he is only 19 years old. He might end up being 7 feet tall when he finishes growing! ------------------ "Win if you can, lose if you must but always cheat!" - Jesse Ventura
It's too early to tell. He may grow, he may not. Right now he's our SF and that's all that matters. If he does grow and put on more weight then we could play him at the 3,4, and 5 and just exploit the best matchup. The versatility would be a real weapon. ------------------
Theoretically,most players should compliment EACH OTHER.In this case Griffin is such a talent that it would be Taylor complimenting him eventually. Anyway you want mismatches out there,like RocksM said.Whether Eddie stays at 6'9" or grows some more and becomes 6'11",seeing him at the 3 is a beautiful thing.Yeah,you can swing him eventually a little between there and Power Forward,but it is at the 3 where he will do the most damage........if we end up with a Chris Webber.Unlike Taylor,CW will require double teams(discounting the zone for a moment)in the post,opening up the floor.Add in there that while he is improving inside,MoTay's strength is and always will that sweet j.Well,Chris brings a helluva shot himself. CW can take you outside. He(when healthy)can dominate inside..offensively, defensively,and on the boards. Webber is a pretty good passer and can run the court. Look,I love Maurice's attitude and he has bigtime skills.The thing ,at least with me is that CHRIS HAS ALL THESE SKILLS AND MORE.In addition though he brings SUPERIOR ATHLETIC ABILITY and MUCH MORE LENGTH AND SIZE. I'd be proud to have MoTay with us next year,but you don't pass on a player like Webber if you have a chance to get him.If it's costing you too much in a deal that's one thing,but we'd only be signing him(or in a S&T)...Mo is young and talented...Chris Webber is the total package at the 4...He played on two bad ankles in the playoffs,not complaining or mentioning it once.That tells me all I need to know about his heart. I'm sorry for digressing off topic,but I don't see why we can't have good chemistry along with great players playing under Rudy........and yes,it would be nice combo of Griffin,Taylor,and Dream...It's just not the best possible option IMO.It's my belief that Dream isn't going anywhere,whether Taylor stays or goes.... Eddie would have his time playing the 3 and working inside,even with CW on this team.He should be able to slide between the 3 and 4 effortlessly down the road....I guess I just don't like the idea of settling for a lesser talent(even though Mo has a high upside)and trying to rationalize it,when we still don't know yet... Francis Cat Griffin Webber Dream.......It could break this way still!! Happy Daze,HH ------------------ Everybody has a little bit of Watergate in em - Billy Graham [This message has been edited by hardwood (edited July 01, 2001).]
Amen. ------------------ Rockets' offseason tasks in order of priority: Get rid of Cato under any circumstances. Sign Chris Webber. Re-Sign Hakeem. Re-Sign Moochie and AirBullard. Pick up the Langhi option for another year. Trade for Bo Outlaw and Raef LaFrentz. .....-'-. ../`.....|__ /`....--`-,-` '-|`...o.'<-....[] ..\....._\__).\=` ...C_..`....,_/ .....|.;----' come back with your original name...now that everyone is changing their screen names anyway
My point about Eddie eventually being the 4 is that you want your best players on the floor. In a couple of years Francis, Mobley, Morris and Eddie might just be as dominant quadruplet as there is in the NBA. Of course I also think that Morris is going to be a great rebounding and shot blocking 3 with the ability to score much better than Shandon. ------------------
If you sign Webber now, Eddie and Morris can develop in the frontcourt behind him. In two years, IF Morris is that good by then and IF Webber does not seem to be the answer for the title run, you can trade Webber for a top center and have your Francis, Cat, Morris, Eddie, (Top Center) lineup. If you sign Mo, you will most probably not be able to do that.
Ok, we're suggesting that Griffin will compliment Taylor because he can play D against 3s or 4s, can play offense inside or outside, can block shots, and can rebound. Hmmm..based on that definition, what other forward couldn't Griffin compliment? I agree that he'll help make up for some of Taylor's more obvious weaknesses, but I'm not sure I'd call that complimenting. I'd rather he complimented Webber by being able to handle 3s or 4s, play offense inside or out, rebound, block shots, ect..... ------------------
Only problem with that is that if Webber does not work out then he will be a high priced player in his 30s with a long term contract that will probably still have 4 or 5 years left on it. It could be harder to move him at that point than we think. ------------------
I don't think so, he is 28 now. A player with his skills at 30 (not somewhere "in his thirties") should be easy to trade for good value, because he would, barring major injuries, still have at least 3,4 great years in him. [This message has been edited by Det The Threat (edited July 01, 2001).]
Forget that, keep him at small forward and let him take advantage of his height like Kevin Garnett does. Think about how hard it would be to guard a 7' small forward. ------------------ "I would like to live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were ever supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever." -Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss Universe contest
Re-sign Big Mo! Mo Taylor may never become CWebb but has loads of talent. He is still young and the Rockets have to opportunity to sign the guy to a long term contract for cheap. ------------------
I'm tired of hearing that Eddie Griffen is the perfect complement to Mo-T. Griffen would be the perfect complement to any other forward in basketball not just Mo-T. ------------------
Maybe if Griffin keeps on growing and becomes 7'6 we can match him up against Yao Ming!! ------------------
