Well as a Rocket fan all i can say is let Eddie play..... let me ask yall this..... would steve francis be one of the more elite point guards in the league if he would had been playing behind Cuttino Mobley???? The answer would most likely be no.... why??? Because they knew he had potential and the Rockets said why not let steve play point and move the cat to the 2.... my point is to give eddie griffin a chance..... sure he's a rookie and is probably undersize... but i feel like he'll give us a shotblockin reboundin outside shootin pf...... i respect kt but i think this a choice that the rockets should make...... the best or most experienced player shouldnt always start....... did barkley start the last 2 years he was here????? did cat start most of last year?? You make the call Cd.
i think most people are afraid of griffin starting because he's an undersized pf rookie and he might be pushed around by the western pfs, and since he's 19, people think it might mentally stunt his growth. the punching incident has many questioning his maturity, and people are afraid he couldn't learn to control his frustrations so early in his nba career. the worst stevie could do in his rookie year was to fumble the ball. i'm not really worried of all this if griffin started, i think he'd be fine. even ROY numbers. but if i was rudy i'd start kenny. i'm a fan of his and maybe he'd be a more valuable trade bait the following season.
Yeah, let our undersized rookie get slaughtered by the megastar PFs of the West. Until Griffin puts on weight your just sending him out there to get manhandled and have his confidence ruined.
I'm with RocksMillenium. Steve Francis started immediately because he had the ability and experience to start. Griffin is young. He doesn't have the experience yet, and sending him out there to get slaughtered by the likes of Tim Duncan, Rasheed Wallace, Chris Webber, and Kevin Garnett is asking for trouble. Rudy thinks that Griffin is not ready, and there is a good reason for that.
Although I think it would best if K9 starts, Griffin and Morris should receive ample playing time. Potential is never actualized sitting on the bench. I'd prefer to see us more proactive (i.e. KG in Minnesota) than to sleep @ the wheel like Portland's blunder w/ Jermaine O'neal.
Who cares if Griffin gets slaughtered at first? Imagine if he turns out to be a Duncan/Garnett type player. Wouldn't it be a good idea to speed up his development, and give him some playing time? 70 percent of you think the Rockets are going to the lottery again anyway, so who cares if Griffin gets slaughtered? Let him play, and let him develop quickly. I'd rather go to the lottery with Griffin starting and improving than Kenny starting and staying the same.
Then what should we do with him? I think that starting Thomas is probably our best bet, but is there anything wrong with sending Griffin out there for substantial minutes? Playing him as a supersub would allow him to: 1. Play against guys other than the starter. 2. Get some limited minutes against the best. I want to see Griffin for 20+ mpg... but hope he doesn't start.
Yeah, we have to handle Griffin like a porcelain doll. If he ever faces adversity, he's liable to fall in a heap. We should be sure to coddle him. But, besides that, it seems the Rudy system mostly calls for earning your starting spot. Francis is the obvious exception to this rule -- but look at the PGs he was competing with. KT has put in the time and paid his dues to earn the starting position. Once Eddie shows he should have it instead of Kenny, I'm sure he'll get it. I think that system is better for everyone.
JV, your first paragraph was sarcasm, wasn't it? Where are those durn smilies when you need 'em? I agree with Haven as far as how to use Eddie this year. I don't think basketball players are like pitchers and quarterbacks who can get shell-shocked when they are thrown into the breech and actually damage their careers. I could be wrong, but I can't think of any examples of basketball players. I don't think Eddie would be damaged by being schooled by all the great PF's in the West. I think it would be better for the team, however, to start KT and still give Eddie plenty of playing time. If Eddie were to have to start at PF, however, I certainly don't think it would be a disaster. After watching him play in the RMR, I think he will be able to get his shot off against most anyone. He will rebound well, and his shot blocking will make people think about coming into the lane. The great PF's will get their points off him, but if you look at what we got from the 4 spot last year, he would be an improvement in a couple of areas.
Here it is: I figured the paragrapg was so dripping with sarcasm that it'd be an insult to my readership to give them an emoticon to help them out. If he's going to be the star we all hope he will be, he better be able to overcome adversity -- which includes getting killed by vets. It also includes having to earn what you get, which is what I think he should do. Why hand it to him when we can make him work for it? It'd also be unfair to Kenny to say, 'Yeah you worked for it and here's your chance but there's the 19 year old who hasn't done squat that we're going to give it to instead. And, we think you should continue to come off the bench and play well for us and not be bitter about it all. After all, it's not like your on the bench because you're deserve to be, we just want to show favoritism to our real future PF. No matter how hard you work, you'll never overcome the rep of being a late first-round pick.'
Hey it beats throwing him out there and hoping he becomes a megastar rookie! What is the logic in sending him out there to get abused by superstar PFs who out weigh him by countless pounds and are already NBA ready!? Why not bring him along slowly and let him EARN the starting spot? Why just throw him out there when we have the capabilities of other options!? The Rockets aren't in position to just throw out rookie and hope they develop, they're trying to make the playoffs while bringing along a 19 year old slowly. Garnett came along fast, but other then that 19 year olds tended to struggle. Look how long it took Kobe! I mean Griffin didn't have all that strong a summer league run, as much as I'm leery of Kenny Thomas at least he is proven, and NBA ready. Let Griffin grow, don't just throw him out there to get slaughtered and say "This is tough love!!"
As much as some of us would like to see Eddie play, it could cost us the Franchise. He already said he'd like to see some post season play. If we start Griffin and don't make the playoffs, Stevie could be gone next time around. Looks like we're stuck, but didn't we get him to play the 3 anyways. Griffin could pull double duty behind Rice at 3 early in a game, then when Rice comes back , (our mystery 4) comes out for a breather . That way everyone is happy. Only in a perfect world.
Calm down and play him already. We finished two games out of the playoffs; adding one of the best talents in the draft is a coup and I realistically do not think it will hurt the Rox to throw him 25 min. a game. If he is not ready Morris is more than likely ready to step up. I highly doubt both of those guys will bust as talented as they are. You don't waste 4 first rounders on projects; I don't care who it is...........................word.
Remember that just three years ago we had <i>two</i> rookies in our starting backcourt and made the playoffs...Granted, they had three future Hall of Famers in the front court to help them out, but Mobley and Dickerson held their own, averaging 10 ppg each. That's an indication that Rudy is excellent at juggling rotations and giving out playing time. Whatever decision he makes, I will support.
