Deuce no disrespect but how deep are we? Center - yes (1-2 punch is one of our strengths) PF - okay (very inconsistent, WE NEED TO HIRE A MENTOR TO WORK WITH GRIFFIN EVERYDAY) SF - barely (rice is useless without the 3 pointer, and Posey can't make a layup to save his ass!) The combination of bone head plays from Posey, Moochie, Mobley & Francis is a game killer. SG - no (Mobley is fine, but we have no backup for him) PG - okay (Francis is an allstar, but Moochie brings nothing but a big Fro!). What we need is a Bobby Jackson or even a Boykins type of player. We need to get rid of Moochie, Rice's contact, and ?, to bring in a Pippen/Odom type of SF/SG that can also run the point. We need to bring a mentor that can work with Griffin on his post game. We need either a new coach, or fire all the assistants and bring in some coaches that can help this team overcome the ISO game. If Les does not make a coaching change, I would be SHOCKED & AWED if he did not shake up this team next year.
I still believe in Eddie Griffin. I strongly believe that he will turn out good in no time (say 2 years). He just needs to continue to work on his defense, shot blocking skills, shooting arc and shot selection (quite a lot weaknesses but doable). On the other hand, how many of you believe RJefferson would be as good as he is under this system? He could come to Houston and become just what Mart Harpring became in Sixers uniform prior to his rebirth in Utah - mediocre. Simply put (in the famous words of Calvin Murphy), every team is not for everybody. RJ is on a good team that suites him well - I am happy for him.
NwO34life:- Your conclusion is erroneous. You must consider that Jefferson is playing on a team of veterans , especially Kidd, who help him play to his max. If Kidd leaves the Nets expect Jefferson to have his stats reduced to about 50%. Griffin is playing on the most selfish and disorganised team in the NBA. Where only the minimum is contributed to improving Griffins game!
barbourdg, we are deep. Not as deep as a team like Sacramento but we are deep. But at times the depth does not play all that well And quite frankly I think our depth might be more of an asset to us if the team played better "team ball" and got everyone involved. You mention getting rid of Moochie and Rice and bring in a Pippen/Odom type of player. Isn't that adding more "Star" quality players to the team? Isn't that what I mentioned in my previous post? Getting more "QUALITY" players instead of "QUANTITY"?
But Jefferson has been consistent and he hustles. Sure Jason Kidd gets him the shots, but he knocks them down....not like EG. EG has this stroke which line drives into the basket. No arc at all. That is definitely something EG has to work on. Jefferson gets involved more on the rebounding and assists areas than EG. I think EG hasn't grown into the player we all thought he would be. Jefferson has contributed since being in NJ. Now that quote I can see play in EG's favor. When you have Ming, Mobley, and Francis wanting the ball, you would leave out EG and Posey. But Posey is asking for the ball more and contributing, not like EG. EG doesn't have that aggressiveness like Jefferson does. He's still playing a like a little boy among men.
Huh, let me try. We got JR, then we wouldnt get rid of KT or whoever. We still get Ming!!! Draft Ming and trade JR for EG are two independent events. It's just like what you eat is not going to change what you going to read.
I agree Duece! But, I think our depth is misleading, because we do not have enough quality (as you pointed out). I also think a big part of the problem is with the coaches. It seems that we never stay with the high percentage shots, or they do not encourage our players to take them. Look at Ming & Posey: Ming looked terrible shooting all those hook shots, and when he changed his shot (last night), he was back on a positive track. Posey has to be the worse NBA player in history shooting layups. So why don't the coaches tell him to just dunk on those fast breaks.
Kenny Smith didn't have the prettiest shot in the NBA either......flat with an awkward rotation.....sound familiar?
I watched Griffin pour in rainbow mid range jumpers before coming to the Rockets (college, summer league, etc.) I don't understand what happened to his shot. But I will tell you this, as an ex-forward who played with two ball hog guards, it is extremely frustrating and demotivating. They expect you to go for the garbage. They never set you up or bring you in to the flow. I actually went through several games where I never touched the ball except on a rebound. I think Griffin has been poorly utilized and poorly coached. He would do much better on another team.
Please don't give up on Griffin yet. We saw a long enough stretch of awesomeness last season when he was given the chance that should have made any of us believe he'll be something special. Remember when a couple journalists were saying that he would "be the best player on this Rockets roster in 2-3 years"? Maybe it's become apparent that that probably won't be true, but I still think he can be a very very good player.
I think maybe what he was originally saying is that if we had kept the 3 #1's, and not traded for EG, we'd have Jefferson and 2 other first round picks, then we wouldn't have had the same record (probably a better one), and so we would not have won the draft lottery. So actually, trading RJ (+others) for EG would (probably) have prevented us from being able to draft Yao. Sort of a cosmic, chaos-theory kind of explaination, but it makes sense. So in exchange for a temporary modest increase in wins (which we gave up when we traded RJ for a more "project" type player in EG), we got the next franchise center, and hopefully titles down the road. Plus, we might still end up with a pretty damn good player in EG, too. All in all, i'll take it.
In hindsight.. very few, but, would you take three late round #1s for Eddie next year?..that would be fairer. I guess if you would be satisfied with a team full of Jason Colliers and Boki Nachbars the answer would be yes.....The chances are you wouldnt get anyone with a future that would even get them to where EG is now.
EG is the key weakness of Rockets.We'd better find a right PF fit for Rockets.Never happened again that K.T and Jefferson' deal.
To me Eddie had a good lookin shot in collage! I dunno wut happen! I think its the fact that he got used to not shootin!!LOL!
Put Jefferson on the Rockets and I guarantee he will not be playing nearly as well as he is with the Nets. Our offense is anemic (sp?)... couple that with the fact that Griffin IS a few years younger, and that Richard Jefferson type players ARE a dime a dozen, while young, natural pf shotblockers like Griffin, and well the verdict on the deal is still out.
To me I LUV EDDIE but I think he is strugglin cuz he doesnt fit in in this team! Out of everybody that plays he is the ODD man! I think he would be good in a team thats in the east maybe like the Celtics cuz they shoot the 3's and they need a guy that has a few post moves I have seen Eddie actually hit turnaround jumpers. I think that would be perfect for him and he can develop! just my opinion. Wut team do yall think he would mostly fit in into???? I wish he would fit our system!!
Kidd has alot to do with Jeffersons emergence, but Jefferson also has something to do with it. People said Marion was only good because he had Kidd, but we see thats not the truth. The Rockets lack of motion in the offense has a lot to do with Griffins lack of offense. If you read between the lines, he talks about lack of team play. The nets makes at least 4 or 5 passes before they get a take a shot. the rockets might go 4 or 5 possessions without making that many passes.
Its not the players fauly! Almost any young star would find it very difficult to fit into a team dominated by a three Guard Cultutre! There seems to be very little team chemistry, no team offence and no team defence. What can the young players do? Yao Ming, Eddie Griffin, Morris, Nachbar and Maddox struggle to make the best of a very unorganised situation.
