One thing we shouldn't overlook during this 3-game skid is the absence of Eddie. Since injuring his back in that ugly collision in the Laker game, he played an ineffective 16 minutes against the Spurs, then sat out the Mavs and Pistons games altogether. As much as we berate EG for not being a superstar yet at age 20, his presence is one of the keys to the Rox playing well. He takes defensive pressure off of Yao and offers a viable (albeit inconsistent) offensive option for the guards when they drive and find themselves in trouble. And when his perimeter game is on, it pulls a big defender out of the paint and opens things up for Yao offensively. That's an awful lot to try to replace with Terrence Morris. Three games without a 100% EG; three ugly losses. No coincidence at all. I guarantee you with Eddie in there last night, there's no way Wallace and Robinson would have had free reign to do the damage they did.
I agree. I can beat any team on NBA Live 2003 with Eddie in there helping Yao in the post.. but when he's not in there I get slaughtered! CONFIRMATION!!!
Hey...he should be back tomorrow against the Bulls. HE IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT PIECE TO OUR DEFENSE. Sometimes, he can contribute to our offense too. But Yao really needs him to help on the weak side. Yao cannot do everything by himself. Eddie is a very good defender that we need. He actually rebounds too.
