To be fair, Jefferson is not really that good, I mean he is an alright player but I give Kidd credit for making him what he is. I do think that if he continues to improve he will one day deserve all the hype he is getting. Despite Griffin taking forever and coming along so incredibly slowly, I still have to say that I believe that one day he'll be one of the better power forwards in the league. Give him about 3 years or so and he should become the player we all want him to be.
Folks, what is that about that Rox passed up on Rashard Lewis three times in the draft? The poor guy was crying on that day for he wanted to play for his hometown team so badly, and Rox broke his heart. Who were those 3 playerd we got in that draft?
Honestly i'd rather have jefferson, but when i saw Griff dunk on Dirk last night it made me think what could happen if he was that aggressive and attacked the basket instead of fading away all the time. But i still reserve my judgement on on Griff until his rookie contract is up. Hopefully there will l be steady improvement from his rookie season to his 3rd or 4th year in the league
EG is still doing the only respectable D against the long 4s the Roz face nightly. MoT has an O game, but gets lit up by anyone 6'10" or taller. I would like to see EG move along the growth path faster and for him to be coupled with a better 4 than Taylor. Taylor, Mooch, and Cato for Spree and Thomas. Oh, such a pipe dream...
I actually thought Jefferson would be a great pick while watching him in the Final Four. He was athletic, played great D, was clutch and had a demeanor that seemed to suggest he could improve alot (especially when you consider that he played C in high school). I also thouht Griffin would be a cancerous prima-donna, especially after he sucker-punched his teammate at Seton Hall. Obviously, shrinking violet would seem to be the better description. I hope he pulls it together, but after seeing Yao physically move him into position during a possession last night, I'm not sure if he's All-Star material. He seems more Horry than anything else (inconsistent with the occasional monster game). In retrospect, I would have still made the trade but instead offered Eddie to all of the teams with picks 2-8 in the 2002 draft and then picked Stoudamire (who the Rockets might have taken since they were one of 3 teams that actually worked him out).
Some questions. Does Jason Kidd make Richard Jefferson better? Does Steve Francis make Eddie Griffin better? The main knock on Francis is he is still learning how to make his teammates better. Kidd, umm that's his reputation, that's who he "is". How many years of college did Jefferson have? How many years of college did Griffin have? How old is Jefferson? How old if Griffin? What offense is utilizing Jefferson? What offense is utilizing Griffin? I think I'd rather have Griffin on the Nets team so that I could see how good he could be. He's got growing up to do, no doubt, but I'll put my left arm on the line that he would be leaps and bounds better if playing for NJ instead of Houston.
20 years old, playing starting PF for Rockets, I expect more from EG, but I am not regret having him, he will be good.
A major problem that I see is that Griffin looks lost on the offensive end. All he knows to do is jack up threes. He doesn't know his position, he cannot do a PNR, etc - nothing. This is where the coaching staff is to blame. If you get a project - then train the sucker!!! -Tariq
To be fair, I've heard some NBA analysts consider Jefferson for the All-Star game. I'm not giving up on Griffin, but to say Jefferson isn't that good is just wrong. A bunch of teams would like to have that guy right now.
Yao on Rudy: [Rudy] said coaching is not to make you a scoring machine on the court, it's making you feel that it's an enjoyable sport, to express yourself. On the court he can only control me 20-30%, the rest is up to myself. The most important thing is to learn to relax. ------------------------------ On this team, Eddie is on his own.
Jefferson is a product of the killer transition/fast break game that Kidd brought to New Jersey. He still shoots below 30% from the arc, and takes about one 3 every 2.5 games. His free throw percentage is a hair above 70%. Look at Shandon's early career percentages. Eerily similar. He's a good defender, and in transition. Sounds like James Posey, minus the ability to hit outside shots. Or a bigger, more glorified Shandon Anderson. Griffin is suffering from the sophomore jinx. People talk about the guard's (inability/refusal/insert your term here) to give it to Yao to work, they do it even less for Griffin. The staff is working on Griffin's inside moves, and his game, and that's the main thing he practices- yet, he just can't get the ball with his back to the basket no matter the type of position he gets. The only time he gets shots is if he's facing the basket for a jumpshot-see the dilemna?
Eddie, as well as the others, would do good to take it upon themselves to be the best they can be. During the "off season" especially, they should work on their game, strengthen whatever weakness they have. Eddie should show the ROX that he is working to improve, and if he gets the right help, he should get better. If he has no passion, and doesn't seem to care, then his game will forever show it.
Just to add.. How many times are we going to have to see Eddie in the post, with his arm in the air, in good position, not get the ball? (as was pointed out).. Eddie needs encouragement and confidence from his peers, all the same as Yao. How is the ROX way of playing, particularly the guards, mentally effecting Eddie? Eddie shows little emotion most of the time, maybe he's bummed about our system, or his role? One thing I noticed in this last game against the Mavs, was that Eddie seemed to enjoy hisself a bit, especially when he dunked on Dirk. The elusive smile surfaced for a bit.
Although I'm somewhat disappointed by EG's progress, it's too early to render judgement, especially because of the age and experience differential. Eddie has shotblocking skills that don't come along very often. And we really needed to strenthen our inside presence (who knew that Rudy would nail his shoes to the 3 point arc his first year??). And, just for the record, didn't we draft Jefferson and the others at NJ's request rather than trade him? If not for the trade, I wonder who we would have picked?? D R
Hmm...Eddie is a great shotblocker, but I would have liked Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and that other guy. Richard Jefferson would fit in pretty well with the Rockets....fast, highflying. But then there would be no Posey. NO YAO either. Everything could have changed... Destiny...fate I would have liked Gilbert Arenas and Tony Parker...and Richard Jefferson. Even Tinsley is pretty good. So is Murphy!
