I think we have waited enough, what is up with Griffin?

This will not happen until he becomes more of a post-up or inside-of-15-foot player than he is. And that, oddly enough, won't happen until he can bang inside and take a beating. This is exactly what makes Kevin Garnett so special... he can do all these things we request of Eddie even though he's a stick. We don't have a Kevin Garnett in Eddie.

Ever notice how Eddie hesitates when he's left a lane about as open as the Pacific? I honestly don't think he can dribble effectively and that's what causes the hesitation. I saw it happen at least once or twice in the last game - a lane is open, and I'm praying EG just drives and tries to throw one down and make it or at least get fouled. Nope... he settles for a 18 foot jumper or hesitates and passes the ball.

Eddie needs to be in the game if for no other reason than as a defensive thread, but I don't know if we have that luxury if Francis is the only one doing dependable scoring (and maybe Ming as well).

 

At 20 what were you doing?

I am sure he is under a lot of pressure. He has only been in the league for one full season. The NBA game is how much faster than college?

Kevin Garnett, who didn't play college ball at all and Griffin might as well not have either seen as he was only there one year, had similar numbers in his rookie year. With 28.7 minutes per game he averaged 10.4 pts./gm, only grabbed 6.3 boards/gm., and 1.6 blocks/gm.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/statistics?statsId=3007

Griffin leads the team in blocks, is almost at double digits in points, and averages close to seven boards a game in a little over 28 minutes per game as well.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3517

When Garnett started in Minnesota there was no supporting cast there, with the Rockets Griffin has to share the ball with Francis, Mobley, Rice, and Ming (when he shoots).

Cut the guy some slack!

 

I don't care what you'all are hearing. He's going to be the small forward. And he's being groomed for it.

 

he does need to try and develop better dribbling skills.

 

All the above players mentioned can do one thing Eddie can't do: Dribble the ball. Eddie bounces the ball once and then looks like a deer in headlights!
Small forwards are required to dribble the ball - so thats out.

 

What does this do?

Yes, lossed. Definitely lossed.

 

Thats because of Elton Brand. He's one of the stronger players in the NBA. He's a beast down low in the paint. Mo Taylor matches up better with Brand than Griffin does because he's bigger and stronger.

 

I think in the long run Eddie's place on this team is going to be as a role player. He just hasn't shown me anything to make me believe he can be a go to player, or someone that can create his own shot. I don't feel comfortable at all when he has the ball in the post up position. It usually ends up with him taking a wild shot, getting his shot blocked, or turning the ball over.

He should just focus most of his efforts on defense and rebounding. On the offensive end, I would be contempt if he just stayed at the top of the key and took open jumpers when the defense doubles Yao or Steve a la Horace Grant and Charles Oakley.

 

Could be because Eddie was getting destroyed and was shooting abysmally. If you don't have offense or defense, you're of no use to the team... unless you're Moochie Norris, apparently.

 

wtf? other than yesterday because of brand's size and strength eddie has had a very good year. didn't crash have a thread that showed his numbers as better or equal to everyone else in his age and postion.

here are his numbers from the last 4 games.

clippers - 9 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 0 blocks.

wizards - 26 minutes, 6 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks.

mavericks - 23 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks.

cavaliers - 29 minutes , 17 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block.

what we see is that his scoring has gone down with the emergence of yao ming in the post but that his rebounding and blocks have remained strong. not only is it plain stupid to say crap like, "eddie's done nothing in the nba, or he's a dissapointment" but it's completely the opposite. those are more than promising numbers for a still slender 20-year old power-forward. i just don't understand what you people expect. if he continues on this path of improvement he'll be exactly what the rockets drafted him to be.

 

I agree that we have to wait on Griffin, he is only 20 years old. He had a rough game yesterday, but has shown signs of improvement. Like the game against Portland. He held Rasheed to 2 of 14. With more weight training he should be able to hold is own more often. I just think the future looks good with Eddie and Yao as our defensive stoppers.

 

the way i saw him play in college was totally different from now. He was dominating and he was only a freshman. He needs some years under his belt for you to see the kind of player he's gonna be. He's timid and he has to feel comfortable to unlock the potential, but once he feels comfortable, it's over.

 

For those who are worried about eddy;

He is only [h2]20[/h2]

Souts do not rave about him for nothing; yes he needs to work on his low post moves and become stronger but it is waaay too early for the jury to be out on him.

Patience.

If you feel this way now about eddy, what would you if you were;

1. Bulls Fans - Who drafted to high schoolers that looks like they may never come around (and they lost Elton Brand in the process).

2. Washinton - who spent their #1 pick to get another 2nd year 19/20 years old last year. So far his play has been as inconsistent as Eddy's. To make matters worse Pau Gasol was drafted 3 picks later.


Eddy has an upside. Lets be more patient and maybe in a year or 2 it will be more reasonable to see how he has progressed.

 

I'll be patient with Eddie until he's 23. He can't dribble, so he can't play sf. He isn't strong enough, so he is not ready to bang inside. He's just got caught in a gap right now. Once he gets stronger, dribbles better and develops a better jumper he'll be the future pf we want. I think those things will come in time for him.

 

He's another kiddie, just like Kobe, McGrady and O'neal.

One year of college. Rememer that. Give him two more years.

 

I'm okay giving Eddie more time to develop. But if that's the case, he shouldn't be starting. If it's just more efficient to start him and bring Mo, Kenny off the bench, fine, but I'm skeptical that that's the case.

 

I say throw him into the fire. Mobley did fine his rookie year starting as PG. Well, a lot of people will argue this, but he's doing ok these days. Same as Francis. Just give the young guys time. If he didn't have any upside to him then you guys can start complaining.

 

He needs to come off the bench...time to move MoT to starter.

DaDakota

 

Reading an earlier post, wasn't the knock on Rashard Lewis that

a) He was too skinny
b) He couldn't dribble
c) He didn' t have an outside shot.

Now, I've read that we should have given up Griffin to land Rashard Lewis in a S&T. I believe that Griffin will be a Rashard Lewis on Creatine once all is said and done, due to the fact that Lewis has now learned some decent handles which allows him to create his own shot (now I do have NBA pass, but have not watched much of Lewis, so I'm relying on other posters for this opinion). Griffin was taken 7th in a deeper draft (projected as high as #1 by many sources) and Lewis taken in the second round behind guys like Bryce Drew. Many will say that high schoolers were not "en vogue" at that time, especially to Rudy, but the fact that cannot be forgotten is that Eddie's physical skills and potential were then understood (at draft night) and they haven't changed. He is 20 and will develop into a very good player, probably an All-Star (following Lewis' blue print) although on a team with Francis and Ming, his points per game will be solid but not team leading.

My point, give the kid a break, if you like Lewis now, there's a good chance you'll be naming one of your kiddos Eddie, or Griffin, in about four years.