They are both 20 years of age with Griffin being 6 months older. Without being a homer... what player would you rather have playing PF on the Rockets? Stats this year Eddie Griffin (Second Year #7 pick overall 2001 draft) 8.1 PPG .387 FG% 5.5 RPG 1.72 BPG in 23.9 MPG Amare Stoudemire (Rookie Year #9 pick overall 2002 draft) 9.9 PPG .401 FG% 8.3 PPG 1.40 BPG in 28.5 MPG
Definitely Stoudemire. It already looks like he has some nice low post moves. He's going to be a solid rebounder also.
EG...all the way. Stoudemire is very impressive but EG can play much better defense which fits the Rockets better.
That guy given 5 years will be top 2 PF in the league. He looks like a more conditioned Kemp in his younger years. Don't get me wrong I am a huge Griff fan, But that Highschooler is a man among boys. The suns should feel honored they got him
Its hard to choose between two guys who arent fundementally sound, they need more individual attention than can be given in a 82 game NBA season. Ive wondered why the Rockets dont bring in Moses Malone to help Eddie develop his play around the basket. Malone was definately a factor in the Dreams development. But it seems they only do stuff like that in the off-season, free of charge. The few times Ive seen Stoudemire , my big impression was that he is the real thing..and I think the same about EddieG.
Mr. Stoudamire Somebody else had said in a couple of years: "That Yao Ming is good but he's no Amare Stoudamire" Well, NO!! Not gonna be that way. But will be: "That Yao Ming, could you imagine if he and Stoudamire were in the same front court" a la CWebb and Shaq
Amare was the other player I was hoping the rockets were going to draft. I had him rated #2 behind YAO. If we could of just moved up 6 more spots. The Rockets wanted him badly too.
EG has one extra year of pro ball experience and one extra year of major college ball experience--the fact Amare strait out of HS has at least equal stats is impressive. No offense to EG, but if Amare came out last year he might have been the #1 pick, his body is just far more prepared for the NBA and looks to be far more potentially dominant physically than EG. To think we kicked around him slipping to #15 and at the time I thought Phx picked him a tad early at 9 (I thought he was there bail out manover when the Nugs surprised by taking both Tskit & Nene and the Clips took Wilcox). The Suns new what they were doing the whole time.
From a different perspective, it's impressive that Eddie has the same stats when Amare clearly has a body above NBA standards, and Eddie's body is not up to NBA standards yet. If Eddie develops a good mid-range shot, he could be an excellent match for Yao by canning the open jumpers Yao will get him.
Amare Stoudamire no question. The Rockets worked out Amare and really liked his ability. The only thing that makes me wonder is that considering they saw the guy up close, why didnt they make an effort to get a top 8 pick for Griffin at draft time and land Amare? Either they were bluffing on Amare, think Eddie will be the next Moses Malone or the opportunity just wasnt there. Hard to say, but thats life. Amare first off already has a very good NBA body coming straight out of high school at 6-10 245. In addition, he has heart and toughness which is why you dont see him getting thrown around in the post like Eddie. Amare holds his own and has already gotten the starting nod in Phoenix which is phenomenal considering his age, inexperience, etc. His stats have slowly been climbing as he has been putting up double doubles with consistent PT. The major part of Amare's game that really intrigues me in addition to his desire and heart are his hands. The guy has incredible hands which will bode well for him in the long run in terms of catching passes around the hoop, in the post and such. Also, I like the fact that he has a very quick jump off the floor; this will help his ability to continue to be an effective rebounder and improve his shot blocking totals. All the reports you read about Amare made it sound like he has absolutely zero touch and would be throwing up line drive Shaq free throws from the foul line. The guy is raw in terms of not having many post moves yet, but his touch around the hoop and such is not bad at all. You can witness this from the fact that he is already shooting almost 70% from the foul line. In a few yrs, Amare should have a pretty consistent mid range shot much like Kemp developed in his career. If Amare can continue to work on his game, I see no reason why he wont be one of the top PFs in the league eventually.
It is early to tell which player will be better. But over the long run I think that both players will be very good. Expect them to both be very with great battles. But like someone said above I think that Eddie G. will be very good defensivly which is what the Rockets need, at least with who they got right now. You know with Mobley and Ming and Francis. And also I think Eddie just needs to get some strength and he will be fine. I think Amare will have better stats over the long run because that is what the team he plays for will need. But the Rockets have so many other good players that they will need for other stuff.
I have seen a bunch of Suns and Rockets games this season, thanks to NBA league pass. I am sorry to say this but Stoudamire is much more impressive than Griffin. Griffin lacks heart. Stoudamire plays with an attitude which seems to infect Suns team at times and ignite them. Stoudamire is also going to be just as good as Griffin on the defensive end. On the offensive end, Stoudamire's body and game suits the power forward position he plays. Griffin avoids contact on the offesnive end, something which a power forward is supposed to do. Stoudamire enjoys physical play and looks to intimidate the opposition. For someone coming from high school that is pretty damn impressive. Googs will have to fight for starting position once he gets back. Now that's saying something. I am a Rockets fan but I like to keep things in perspective. If I had a chance to get Stoudamire for Griffin, I would do it in a heartbeat. Hell I would even throw in Kenny Thomas and Maurice Taylor for free.
From the things I have seen so far I too would have to go with Stoudamire. However, if Griffin can add some more weight and start to develope a game like Jermaine Oneal then he is defintely a keeper. The bottom line is we all like the fact that Stoudamire does not mind "banging" down low, accepting the contact and grabbing rebounds. We want that from our power forward. We hope to get that from Griffin! Chris
What happened to Griffin wanting to lead the NBA this year in blocked shots? I was pretty excited when he said it, and he looked like he would do it in preseason. What has happened to him? Theres no doubt that Stoudamire is playing to his full potential, and Griffin is not. If Griffin gets back to his shot blocking ways, puts on some muscle, and plays like he's capable of, I'd rather have Griffin next to Ming ... Rebound and shot blocking heaven. After Ming, Stoudamire was definitely my favorite player in the draft. I would have loved us to trade anyone besides Francis and Griffin to move up in the draft and nab him. I think we didn't, because we already had Griffin, and I'm not sure the Rockets management felt Griffin fit best at the 3. Boki will surprise us all next year, and be our starter for a long time, I think. He just has to get over his injury and adjust to the NBA, just like Dirk Nowitski did in his first year. I liked Butler, too, in this summer's draft. I still wish we could find a way to get Andre Miller and Desagna Diop in trade or FA somehow... I just think it makes sense to eventually move Stevie to SG, ala Kobe... perhaps if we can get Taylor, Thomas, Norris, Cato, Mobely and Rice's value up, they can be used in trade somehow... so many guys were injured, we didn't have those trading chits this last summer.
I think Griffin has more room for improvement than Stoudamire. In 3 years, these 2 will be going against each other as 2 of the best PF's in the league. Like Duncan-Webber matchups. Stoudamire will always have more power with a decent jumper, but Griffin will have a better jumper/range and a decent power game. Stoudamire brings the type of game I'd like to see next to Ming in coming seasons. BRUTE POWER game, ferocious rebounding, massive body, hard work, shotblocking, and a clean up act (blocks, tip ins, etc...) If you compared the 2, you can say Stoudamire is like a healthy McDyess while Griffin is like a Rasheed Wallace with much better shotblocking and defensive ability. The thing that seperates the two, though, is Stoudamire's desire. He has a fire in him that you couldn't put out with the whole Atlantic Ocean. He wants to, very soon, be the VERY BEST player in the entire league. Not one of the best. Nothing like that. He wants to be #1, hands down, best player. He has tremendous drive, and Mobley-like work ethic. With his body and his skills, paired with that kind of work ethic, I think Stoudamire will be the better player at the end of his career.
