jshabang, I think it's a little unfair to be calling for Rudys head because of our record. Man this team has been cursed by a jamican voddoo lady. 1)Mo Taylor(starting small forward)being gone for the season 2) Steve Francis(your franchise player that dictates the offense) being out for over a month - thats when the meltdown occured 3) Glen Rice out for the season 4) Plus many other key players missing a games here and there within that same time. To say Rudy is a bad coach because of the way he implements a offense or substitues, ok, fine. But to solely blame him for our lousy record you must then be blaming him for the unforseen injuries of our key players as well. And if thats his fault then that to me makes Rudy a faulty God or psychic, not a faulty coach. So my point is this: when judging Rudy by this years teams record one must take into account the terrible string of luck that has befallen this team so far(injuries to key players). So, hey man, why don't you take a chill pill and grab a heineken to wash it down with - you dig!
This is DUMB blaming Rudy for Griffin not making the Rookie game. So what he don't play Griffin will excel way before any of those other rooks will. Griffin could very well get Rookie of the Year Honors! Blaming rudy is just another week of someone else hating on a Rockets member.
jshabang, Eddie shot 35 of 120, thats, er, 29%, in the first 23 games (through mid-December). I believe Rudy knew what he was doing, bringing him along slowly. BTW, didn't you watch any of those games? How embarrassing for you.
Exactly! This is why Griffin wasn't playing much at the beginning of the season! It was his own fault! His shooting was absolutely dreadful! Kenny on the other hand was and still is playing good. I don't know why people can't get that through their thick skull. KENNY THOMAS IS GOOD! I would've questioned the hell Rudy was doing if he replaced Thomas with Griffin early on. It's great that Griffin has come around so soon, but early in the season Rudy was doing the right thing. Now, I think Rudy should replace Cato with Griffin in the starting lineup rather than Kenny.
Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, never won the rookie of the year award, but they went on to be top 50 players in the league. I don't really care he didn't make the rookie team as long as he becomes a dominant player in the nba. Its just one game, so what.
DCKid, Correct....and who is to say that Griffin didn't excel this fast *because* Kenny was doing so well. It is called roster depth competition. If you bench Kenny and hand the role over to Griffin at the start of the season, don't you lose competition. <b>Surely, football fans in Texas can understand this.</b> Make the rookie beat out the veteran. It makes the veteran play better, thus requiring the rookie to play better. It is a double win. The idea that Rudy was lucky that injuries allowed him to play Griffin...is moronic when he shot 29% in 15 mpg and only 17 blocks in 21 games. A much better reasoning is that Griffin got better in practice via competition with Kenny and coaching help, got more comfortable, and exploded when ready...and the coaches were drooling at the notion of him being ready. Hell, even Griffin says in the paper he wasn't quite ready for the speed of the NBA and the mental aspect...he said that. jackbang....no reason for you to start a new thread with this crap whine when 5 other threads were available regarding Griffin being snubbed. have a chaser with that whine enjoy hitting dozens of Ignore List....you sure know how to use that chaser of yours.
I AM SO SICK OF HEARING THIS BS ABOUT GRIFFIN shooting 29% in 15mpg was the reason for his slow start. DUH!!!! he never had any plays ran for him, so all he could do was shoot up 3's. DUH!!!! 15 mpg is not much better than garbage time (he sat out on alot of 2nd halfs) DUH!!!! when he was in the game with Moochie, Cuttino & KT, who was going to pass him the ball? NEITHER DUH!!!! Who thinks that he just woke up one day, and could shoot and block? NOT ME!!!! Facts: He has always possesed the skills to handle the NBA. As many of us discussed, before the season, either Rudy would bring him along (like Francis), or show him the pine (with limited minutes, and no plays ran for him). Kenny might have good numbers - averaging 33mpg, 13.8ppg, 7.20rpg, .75bpg, & a whooping 2.07 turnovers pg, but Griffin could of easily managed better stats (with equal playing time, & plays ran for him). Even if Griffin manages 15 ppg for the rest of the season, he would barely be averaging 11 ppg. Is that enough to overtake Gasol or Battier for ROY?
I was beginning to feel like a straight man who accidently walked in the "PINK CADILLAC BAR AND LOUNGE".
Griffin has no more plays run for him now than he did then. The only plays that are "run" for him are the pick and rolls where he gets open 3 point shots. Those have been run all season, but lately he has been hitting them. 15 minutes is plenty better than garbage time. Moochie didn't get much better than that last season, and he produced. Blaming a players struggles on "not enough PT" is a cop-out. Players have had to deal with earning playing time before. It is no new thing to them. They know they need to make the best of what is given to them. Moochie passes plenty. And what the hell does Cat and KT have to do with it? He plays with both those players now MORE than he did when he was getting fewer minutes. If anything, you should mention bench players who aren't starting, because when he got his "garbage" time earlier in the season, it was with all the 2nd stringers. You are painting this situation into too much of a black and white. It didn't just "happen." He showed flashes earlier in the season, but for the most part, he looked lost in our offense and sometimes on defense. The man himself has said that it took him a while to get accustomed to the Rockets and get in the flow. Are you saying he is lying? Lots of players possess the skills to play in the NBA, but there is a transitional period involved. College is very different from the NBA, and you can't expect these players to come in and play great like Griffin is doing now. In hindsight, I find it amazing how well Rudy DID handle the Griffin situation. He still gives KT plenty of minutes (and Kenny does deserve them, he has played great this season), but he also gave Griffin enough time to get used to playing with the team. Now, he has blossomed.
So are you saying the other Rookies in the League didn't have to do the same thing?????? Griffin is clearly better than all the other rookies in the league, and always was, so why did they get to play since the beginning??? They're coaches let them work it out on the court.. You don't give up three first rounders to get a guy you really want and not know what he's capable of. They must have a some idea...................
Sure all the other rookies in the league had to do the same thing. Pau Gasol didn't start the season out on a tear. In fact, he probably wouldn't have gotten as much PT as Griffin if Swift had not been injured. Tinsley is a little different situation. It is not often that a rookie PG comes into the league with so much poise. I do think that Griffin is better than the other rookies in the league. I think the Rockets coaches knew that too. But they couldn't very well be giving over 30 minutes a game to a rookie who is shooting under 30% from the floor! And during that period, Griffin wasn't rebounding and blocking shots like he is now either. If Rudy had benched Kenny, who was and is playing great, for Griffin and given Griffin a boatload of minutes when his stats and performance didn't indicate that he deserved them (forget about potential for a moment), what do you think that would have done for Rudy's reputation? It would have looked like he was an unfair coach who didn't reward good play, and many of the players who love him would lose respect. As nice as it sounds to a fan who is completely disconnected from any complaints, bickering or lockerroom problems to simply start a 19 year old rookie who isn't producing, a coach has to take into account more factors than that. Rudy did, and I salute him for it.
Since when did Moochie start passing, he has been one of the most selfish players on our team (during our loosing streak). Once he starts dribbling, he almost never passes, unless he charges somebody and tries to bluff the ref - with a pass (just like when the game was on the line in NY).
In 28 minutes a game this season, Moochie is averaging 5.47 assists. In 38 minutes a game this season, Steve Francis is averaging 5.88 assists. Moochie passes plenty. He may play selfishly occasionally, and make bad decisions, but he is not the total ball-hog that everyone makes him out to be. He is a good backup PG.
That has to be the funniest thing I have ever read. Rudy's reputation? Rudy's reputation is running ISO plays all night, making basketball not always fun to watch! and playing veterans that are not producing, when they should be on the bench (Walt, GLEN RICE, etc....) Francis got his playing time, during his Rookie season. Mobley got the starting nob his Rookie Year (as a 2nd round pick). If you want to say that Griffin did not show signs of greatness (in his limited preseason) or during practices. Then what exactly does Rudy have him do in practices (the few they have had). Maybe Rudy works on Griffin's high picks to get him the wide open 3 pointer (aren't most 3 pointers wide open for PF/C's). If Larry (CD, etc...) was teaching their low post moves, did they ever call these during practices. It sure doesnt seem like he ever gets these kind of plays called. You might argue that he does not have any post moves, but how can he prove (or not) any such moves, without getting the call. I mean SH***TT, Charles, Hakeem, KT, Othella lived running our offense from the inside. Even though we are now a ISO team, can't we have a few of these plays called (per game). Has anybody ever seen that run for Griffin? I have witnessed Griffin shooting some fadeaways earlier in the season, and he looked comfortable. You cannot do that now with KT, because he will not pass the ball out of the post. I just wish Rudy would wake up and try not to be so one-dimensional in his offense...
You may be oversimplifying things a little bit. Yes he showed flashes earlier this season, but you need playing time in this league to be consistent. The big reason EG struggled early on was first of all on the few occasions he did get a chance to play, he felt compelled to show that he belonged out there on the court and I senced that he was pressing, therefore his play was sporadic. He has commented many times that he's been wanting to show and prove to his teamates that he belongs. Early on he probably didn't know from game to game if he would even get into the game. There no excuse for a guy with this talent who isn't injured to have a "DNP coaches decision" in the box score next to his name after the game. Now that he is getting playing time, he is relaxing and looking more comfortable, therefore he's now playing the way he was capable all along. He would have been doing the same thing he is now earlier in the season if he got playing. You don't learn or teach talent. Yes EG still has a long way to go before the Rockets can count on him as being the man along with Steve, but I agree Rudy's decision to not play EG more earlier in the season was plain WRONG. You don't bring a guy with that much ability and talent along slowly. You let him go out there and do his thing from day one and let him grow and blossom even more as a player.
Why are we complaining? He is playing now! ...The cream rises to the top, no? Sooner or later in the season, we all should have known Eddie will make his splash. I am particularly indifferent to the fact he didn't get to play that much earlier in the season.
why rudy wont start EG now is debateable. Rudy is a players coach. he will not plays for everyone. you have to earn your dues in his system, and once you have... they have to be earned away from you. you do not need plays run to be able to block, you do not need plays run to be able to rebound. some players have made a career out of that... ie ced ceballos. before eddies spectacular play you didnt see the bandwagon we see now of why they dont play eddie. Eddie was a surprise to everyone. We all wanted to believe hed get to this point one day, but i highly doubt anyone thought it would be this soon. when a team drafts a player, they check out everything. after the draft, we all heard the articles of Eddie being lazy and would not be a good professional. whose to say that didnt motivate rudy more to want to train eddie with patience. Right now we have a player who shows great poise, and IMHO i believe should be starting, but rudy has always done what he felt was best for his team. maybe he isnt the right man for this job, that doesnt take away from his championships.
