I am finished bit****ing about it. I just remember talking with ZRB & others in the preseason discussing how Rudy would play Griffin. Everybody was hoping that Rudy would not make the same mistake that the pacers did with Jonathan Bender... and would hopefully follow Francis & Mobleys grooming. The only thing that makes me PISS**Ed is that Rudy (and CD & co) should of know that if they did not include Griffin, in the offense (PLAYS CALLED), that he would not be in contention for ROY, and more disgusting he would perhaps not make the Rookie game. I still find it ironic that Griffin exploded after being labeled a Rookie Disapointment by ESPN. I still wonder if the front office put a call into Rudy to get the kid involved. They looked just as stupid with that ranking.
<B>The only thing that makes me PISS**Ed is that Rudy (and CD & co) should of know that if they did not include Griffin, in the offense (PLAYS CALLED), that he would not be in contention for ROY, and more disgusting he would perhaps not make the Rookie game. </B> I thought Rudy's job was to put his team in the best position to win?!?! Since when was his job to get players into All-Star games or Rookie games? Maybe Mobley should shoot 50 times a game so he can lead the league in scoring and get All-Star recognition. Yeah, it might not help us win, but apparently that's not the goal anyway. Players earn playing time. When Griffin played well, he started getting playing time. When he sucked, he didn't. It's that simple. Francis & Mobley got playing time their rookie years because the alternatives were worse. They earned it by beating out the competition. Griffin did not. Same with Gasol and other rookies -- generally, good rookies are on crappy teams and thus can beat out the other crappy players. Last year, Swift got limited playing time because of better players in front of him (Abdur-Rahim). Kobe went to a winning team and thus played very little his rookie year because other players performed better in the time given. This is pretty standard stuff.
Rudy's reputation is a players coach who won two championships. He is loved by his players because he is fair, and he gives his players the respect they deserve. If that is the funniest thing you have ever read, then I feel sorry for you.
How can you label if Griffin was playing well (or not) when he was not included in the offense. Setting high picks, and shooting 3's is a hard way to determine if a player sucks or not. If you want to say that he should of found other ways to score, then how does he do that when the Coach won't draw up plays for him, or when selfish players (running the offense) would not pass him the ball? and if he does call for the ball (in the post) he gets waived off. Its hard to get involved in the game, when you do not get the plays or minutes. Look at Oscar, he was getting national exposure (with cuttino injured) and now he cannot get back into the flow of things. Does he suck, because he cannot dominate in 10 minutes a game? Go ask Hakeem his take? For a guy loved by his players, he showed Hakeem no respect after his final game (last season). No Handshake, hug, nothing - just walked off the court.
<B>How can you label if Griffin was playing well (or not) when he was not included in the offense. </B> You can earn playing time in both games and practices. Maybe he sucked in practice as well.
<B>Go ask Hakeem his take? For a guy loved by his players, he showed Hakeem no respect after his final game (last season). No Handshake, hug, nothing - just walked off the court.</B> Maybe this had to do more with Hakeem than Rudy? Why not ask Harrington or Horry or Cassell or Elie, who all said well after leaving that Rudy was their favorite coach to play for? Or Taylor, Anderson, and Webber who all mentioned Rudy as one of the reasons that they'd like to play for the Rockets? Or all the Dream Team members that played for him last year, when Garnett (I believe) said he'd do something like swim across the ocean for Rudy? Rightly or wrongly, Rudy is considered a players' coach all across the NBA.
Oh please... any hug or handshake bull**** would have been for the cameras, plain and simple. It's not as if this was the last time these guys were to see each other. And doesn't it also show that Rudy had full intentions of trying to get Dream back after last season? If he had treated it like it was his last game, that would have been a pretty stupid ass move. People would have totally misinterpreted it.
Well looking at the set plays, Rudy runs for him (high picks & 3 pointers) during games. Then I guess that is all Rudy let him do in practices. Way to coach Rudy!!!
<B>Well looking at the set plays, Rudy runs for him (high picks & 3 pointers) during games. Then I guess that is all Rudy let him do in practices. Way to coach Rudy!!! </B> Or maybe he didn't execute the other plays properly in practice, and therefore they weren't run for him in games? There's no way to know WHY Griffin didn't get playing time, but Rudy has a history of playing guys who earn their time, whether it be in practice or on the court. I don't see why Griffin (or any player) should be exempt from that.
Major, I am not going to spend all day debating you. But here is a few questions for you: 1. During the loosing streak, why did Eddie always get waived off in the post? 2. Since he always (99%) of the time, sets the high pick, is this a Rudy Play? or is that Griffins choice? 3. Does Rudy have a history of starting the best players? was Kenny Smith better than Cassell? was Anderson (at the 2) better than Cuttino? Is Willis (currently) better than Cato? There is no way of knowing for sure why Griffin finally woke up, personally I think its because of the ESPN article. But you have to agree, that is pretty tough to get good offensive stats, when you have a team ranked last in the league in ASSISTs. This team is full of selfish players, and ball movement is rarely seen. So how does a player prove himself, when he only gets the ball on the 3-point line. This point is moot now that Griffin has shown that he deserves the ball. But I would like to hear your thoughts.
“Excuse me” (hand up in the back of the room) “Excuse me, there (hand frantically waving in the air).” AHEM! “Ah … thanks ….. ahhhh, well just to, ah ,set the record straight …. Ah, ummmmm, ..... Rudy is a team coach above all else. Not a players coach. A scientific coach. An endangered species coach. Or, even a sectional coach. He's a team coach." "Ahem .... he coaches from a team perspective. Frankly I doubt his head was anywhere near aware (as some of you are postulating) of the balloting, or consideration of EG for the balloting, or anywhere near as cognizant of EG's focus, other than at practice or gametime ….” “Simply put, his job is to coach a team that has multiple enough problems on which to dwell. Not worry about personal stats, personal platitudes, or personal milestones." "Is he aware Griffin is an exceptional rookie? Yes, damn straight, even someone as stupid as Peter Vecsey could see that. " " Is he aware that an annual rookie thingee exists? Yes." "Would it dictate how he arranges playtime or aligns roster depth? No. Not in the least.” "And with that said, may I lower my hand and then go to the bathroom to lower my pants?" "Thank you."
<B>1. During the loosing streak, why did Eddie always get waived off in the post? </B> Because we have a problem with selfishness and ball-hogging. However, that's not relevent to his playing time. All the other people in the game have to deal with those same issues. <B>3. Does Rudy have a history of starting the best players? was Kenny Smith better than Cassell? was Anderson (at the 2) better than Cuttino? Is Willis (currently) better than Cato?</B> He doesn't have a history of <I>starting</I> the best players, but he has a history of <I>playing</I> the best players. Cassell, Mobley, and Willis all got plenty of minutes. They also tended to be in the game in the most critical minutes in the 4th quarter. Over the last few weeks, I believe both Cato & Griffin are playing better than Willis, so Willis' minutes have declined. <B>There is no way of knowing for sure why Griffin finally woke up, personally I think its because of the ESPN article. </B> If that's the case, then Griffin is not the player I hope he is. To be successful, he's going to have to get his motivation from inside, not from what some article says about him. <B>But you have to agree, that is pretty tough to get good offensive stats, when you have a team ranked last in the league in ASSISTs. </B> You don't have to have good offensive stats to earn playing time. You have to play well, and there's huge difference there. The best example I can think of is from UT College Basketball. Fredie Williams last year averaged 2 pts and 1 rebound or so, but he was arguably the 2nd most important player on the floor (behind Darren Kelly). <B>So how does a player prove himself, when he only gets the ball on the 3-point line. </B> Rebounding, shotblocking, putbacks, playing solid man & help defense, setting good picks, being in the right position on whatever plays are run, showing energy and enthusiam in whatever minutes you get, etc.
<b>Go ask Hakeem his take? For a guy loved by his players, he showed Hakeem no respect after his final game (last season). No Handshake, hug, nothing - just walked off the court.</b> Oh, shutup. I distinctly remember Rudy saying that he got emotional at the end of the game when the crowd was chanting "One More Year." He said it gave him goosebumps. For the love of God stop the BS please! Its sounds to me like it had a pretty big effect on him. I could also point out the numerous times that Rudy has credited Hakeem as the sole reason for his success. Oh no, but he didn't HUG him! Give me a break. I don't even know how you call yourself a Rockets fan with comments like that. You're reaching, pal.
jshabang is correct. screw the rookie game thing -- Eddie should have been playing because more minutes for him are good for the team in both the short and long run. period. Eddie not playing cost the Rockets games, multiple games, in a season where they are likely to make another late run and then finish a few games out of the playoffs. HE WOULD HAVE STARTED PLAYING BETTER SOONER IF HE HAD GOTTEN MORE MINUTES SOONER. AND WHAT, I ASK YOU, WAS THE DOWNSIDE OF PLAYING EDDIE GRIFFIN BIG EARLY SEASON MINUTES? HURTING A TEAM THAT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO AND IN FACT DID LOSE 15 STRAIGHT GAMES? And no, Kenny Thomas should not have been benched. Even with Kenny getting 30 minutes per game, Eddie should easily have been able to get 30: 18 at PF and another 12 at C, SF, whatever. I'm not aware that the Rockets have amazing talent at the SF or C position.
Look, he's a rookie and was just choking on his shot. Didn't you watch him play early on? And its bull**** that 'all he was shooting were 3's early on. Through Dec 15th, 36.4% of his shots were 3's; after, 36% were 3's. Are you b****ing about that additional 0.4%? Did THAT cause him to shoot poorly.
