Many fans on this board rave about Eddie's defense. They continue citing his shot blocking ability (2 blks a game) which is all great and dandy. But PLEASE don't misinterpret the 2 blocks a game as good defense. I am not saying that 2 blocks is not impressive but one of the reasons the guy gets those blocks is that he gambles and is always off the ground. Eddie is continuosly out of position due to these gambles. Before you Eddie worshippers bash me, let me just say that I am a Eddie fan but I just dont think he can play defense (or offense for that matter) as a PF. He has continued to get SLAUGHTERED this year by opposing PFs (Gasol, Malone, Duncan etc.). Granted, these PFs are good but they had WELL above their average games against our "Power Foward". If you watched the game, you will see that he can not keep up with these types of guys. Lastly, for those old timers like me, a good defensive PF does not necessarily need to block shots like many believe. Here are some names on the top of my head that were amazing at defense and are the types of guys we need. Buck Williams, Otis Thorpe, Horace Grant, Karl Malone, Dennis Rodman. These guys play defense with their bodies and move there feet well instead of trying to swat or steal the ball all the time. Imagine if we had a guy like this in our starting lineup along with Yao. Our interior defense would be golden... Thoughts?
no he isn't a good defender. people who rave about his defense are only raving about his shot blocking, nothing more.
I would like to see Yao Ming take on the opposing better post player more (usually PFs in the West except Shaq) instead of EG. EG is a better help defender (rather than on the ball defender) and weak-side shot blocker (rather than in your face type) from what I saw so far.
sorry if this is kind of a redundant post with the Eddie thread that someone else started. But I really think we need to look at his "defense". Otherwise than the Lakers, Sonics and Mavs, he is gonna have to "defend" a tough PF in the playoffs and we can not continously let the opponent go off on us. Here is some of the breakdowns of the guys he faced this year. With their NORMAL averages and when they play us. Gasol NORMAL- 17.5, 8.7 US- 29, 12 Difference, 11.5 more pts and 3.3 more boards MALONE NORMAL- 19.4, 8.2 US- 31, 9 Difference, 11.6, .8 AMARE (I am leaving the first game out since it was the beginning of the season and he wasn't the starter) Normal- 13.2, 9.4 US- 29, 13 Difference- 15.8, 3.6 Garnett Normal- 22,13 US- 26, 14 Difference 4, 1 There are others but I think this will give you the point. Keep in mind that there FG% were also alot higher than normal but I didnt track it because it takes too much time. Some will argue that Eddie was not the ONLY one that guarded these guys during the game but this is a pretty telling indication that at this point in time, he can not defend Western Conference PFs and that we need help...
Let me get this straight.... You want to have our best paint intimidater patrolling outside of the paint running after quicker PFs instead of guarding the basket?? IMO...Yao doesn't have the quickness to chase the good PFs around..they would blow right by him..can you say "foul trouble"? Eggie and Mo are more than capable of handling them...and if they get by Eggie/Mo, then you have Yao or Cato there to attempt a stop.. and you are right hikanoo, at first glance, it did seem to be redundant...but they other thread is dealing with his offense, and you are attempting to deal with his D.. Maybe we should just have one thread that deals with both?? Just a thought...
I mean guarding post players like TD, certainly not KG, Dirk types. YM is better on the ball shot blocker while EG is better weak side shot blocker IMO.
feel free to correct me if Im wrong, but isnt Duncans range extend out to around 12-15? I seem to recal he has a sweet touch on the shot from out there....you bring Yao out to guard him...and he passes to the Mermaid or Willis for the strong slam... any others you were thinking of?
Actually you are right. Duncan did go low post a lil, but he mostly killed us from 15-18 ft. In fact, Yao was having problems guarding Robo out high and Robo stuck a couple of 15 footers in his face because Yao didnt want to come out high to guard him (because if he got up on Robo, he would blow right by him).
I think those inflated numbers are not entirely eddie's fault. I do believe you have to look at MoTay ( a very poor defender in his own right ) as at least PARTIALLY responsible for those averages. With that said eddie does need to bulk up but I do not think it would be in the best interest of the rockets to give up on him. I think people here greatly underestimate the importance of role-players for team chemistry. This point is illustrated by the "Lets get Elton Brand" posts that pop up from time to time. As i said in another post, the LAST thing the rockets need to add is another star. I think that nucleus is already in place. What we need now is a forward who can play defense, block shots, and rebound. I am a firm believer that eddie can develop into the role player that we need him to be. Maybe if people stop wanting eddie to be a superstar "KG" type they will become more objective of his play. We really don't need his offense and I think his defense will only improve as he gets more playing time and learns the tricks of the trade. Lay off eddie untill you can find a better player to replace him that won't destroy what little team chemistry we do have.
Exactly. EG is no KG and may never be. Honestly I don't think our Rockets franchise views him as our future 1st option on offense (like KG at Minny). The quicker fans realise this the better. But still... EG's offense defense needs to greatly improve to even become a great "complementry player". We can't let rival PFs have a 20 pt differential and beat us every game at that position.
and why not go low?...he has that sweet bank shot he loves to use...you dont see him miss that very often.. I'm not real sure if the Mermaid could blow by him normally, but the way Yao and Mermaid-man were playin yesterday...it wouldnt have surprised me! I thought DRob was washed up, if so, he certainly didnt show it yesterday. swooh.. Mo seemed to be much more fired up yesterday, his shots were falling, he was fighting for rebounds, and he was bodying up on D alot better than Eggie was...If Eggie plasy like we know he can, and Mo brings that game every night...we dont really have that much of a problem at the 4 imo.....or course
I do agree that Yao lacks the lateral quickness to guard face up jump shooters. But hey EG isn't much better and he doesn't read defense very well. His blocks usually come from weak side.
Eddie is not a good man on man defender, he is a good recovery and weakside shot blocker. He does not play position defense very well at all. Mo Taylor played Duncan very well yesterday, that is why EG was on the bench. DD
"I think those inflated numbers are not entirely eddie's fault. I do believe you have to look at MoTay ( a very poor defender in his own right ) as at least PARTIALLY responsible for those averages." I agree. But this doesn't mean we dont need help. "With that said eddie does need to bulk up but I do not think it would be in the best interest of the rockets to give up on him." I agree. But I think it is fare to say that this Eddie experiment as the starting PF has not currently panned out. Not to take anything from him, he is just NOT ready to start at PF now. Maybe in a few years. "I think people here greatly underestimate the importance of role-players for team chemistry. This point is illustrated by the "Lets get Elton Brand" posts that pop up from time to time. As i said in another post, the LAST thing the rockets need to add is another star." I agree. But is Eddie good for our chemistry? He shoots WAY too many jumpers and has problem playing d. But i understand your point about having TOO many superstars (brand) to hurt chemistry. But what about a dirty work player like Brian Grant or PJ Brown? I would even be content with Brian Skinner. "What we need now is a forward who can play defense, block shots, and rebound. I am a firm believer that eddie can develop into the role player that we need him to be." As I illustrated before, Eddies defense is EXTREMELY suspect as this current time. I have confidence that he will develop over time but it may take 2-3 more years. It takes alot of time to change his game from a jump shooting type player to a dirty work type mindset. But I think you bring up good points. Afterall, both of our goals is for the success of our Rox (both short term and long term). My question is that if it is WORTH IT to basically wait for Eddie to develop into a PJ Brown type player and sacrafice wins now for a player that in my opinion will be like a Rashard Lewis in 3 years?? RISK/REWARD scenario. I honestly feel that if we had a defense oriented PF, we can get past the 1st round this year (Brian Grant type). So in my mind, the answer is a resounding NO. RISK- Have Eddie continued to get slaughtered and we lose to one of the Western Conference team with a stud PF (Utah, Phoenix etc.). REWARD- We sacrafice losing right now for 2 years and he will eventually develop into a Rashard Lewis type 17 pts, 8 rebs, 2 blks but this MAY hurt our chemistry since our 2 main guys are Ming and Francis who need shots. Plus, if he were to get 17, 8, he will want a big contract which we will have problems paying. SOLUTION- Get a PF now and have Eddie be a 6th man. Eddie can play both SF and some PF. Maybe we can give Glen Rice and someone for Brian Grant??? Both have HUGE contracts.. Or go cheap and get a guy like Brian Skinner who will get 8 pts, 8 rebs 30 min, hard defense, hard fouls who scrabs and sets screens.. Skinner isnt great but he does know how to play his role (doesnt shoot long jumpers and defends). 6"9 265.. 54% FG !!!!! Did well when Derrick Coleman was hurt (10 reb games).. Does the little stuff (screens, defense, lose balls, rebounds, garbage pts etc.)..
EG has been defensive technique, but is getting better. He blocks some of his own man's shots alot too. In fact, in the earlier Spurs game this year and in pre-season, he flat out blocked Duncan several teams. Overall, despite EG's shortcomings, he is no doubt, a much better option guarding the 4 than Yao is. Also, EG is improving on D, in the 3rd quarter yesterday, he fronted Duncan quite a few teams and was physical with him. If I remember correctly, Duncan only had 9 pts the entire game while EG was in the game. Granted, he was only in for 18 mins, but in the 3rd quarter, Duncan only had 4 pts total in the quarter with EG in there the whole time.
Griffen will get his stretches from time to time but he is in no way a long term solution against other PFs. How are we gonna CONTAIN Duncan, Malone or Stoud come playoff time not to mention Webber, Rasheed or Garnett if we play em? I am not asking for Eddie to stop them, he cant even CONTAIN them as illustrated in the other post... Need help!!
I'd have to agree with the concensus in this thread. Griff is a good help defender, a very nice weakside shotblocker. But his man to man defense sucks most of the time. Either he fails to get position or gets muscled out of it. That, combined with his penchant for the outside jumper = soft imo. He needs to bulk up and get waay more aggressive.
