I Didn't really follow Basketball until the early 90's because of my age, but I was wondering how Griffin at 19 compares to the Dream at around the same age. I know that Dream had significantly less experience when he arrived at UH, but athleticism wise his soccer experience was vital to his foot work and hand-eye coordination needed to block shots. Though Griffin is 6'9 and about 240lbs (I think), Dream today is only about 6'10-6'11 and really isn't a true 7-Footer. Especially if you see him next to Robinson or even Bullard for that matter. Griffin seems a lot more refined and has a great deal more range, but I am more interested in knowing the shot-blocking / rebounding/ position defense and playing style. Could it be that having Francis/Griffin and a group of strong surrounding talent ala Mobley/Taylor etc. will give us a chance to attain those what if dreams of having a young Dream with a young Drexler or talented guard. Old School Guys?? Any Insight would be appreciated...
Griffin is LIGHT years ahead of where Dream was at this age. However, what made Dream unique was that he worked on his game EVERY summer and got better and better. If Griffin has 1/2 that work ethic we will all be very happy. DD
Though its unfair to compare the two because Griffin is only 19, and dream had three years of college ball on an extremely competetive UH squad, what about their rookie seasons? Even though we don't even know dream's real age...he could be 41 instead of 38 for all we know.....!
No comparison there, Dream was WAY ahead by his rookie year. He averaged 20/10 and was an impact superstar player immediatly. Dream was 21 though, so Griffin in his 3rd year would be an equal comparison. DD
At age 19, Griffin is better, imo. Akeem wasn't great on offense. But, as DaD said, Akeem's improvement is pretty legendary. There is no way (short of massive speculation) that you can attach to Griffin's potential the same Akeem rapid ascent that led to him demolishing the Lakers in Magic's prime in 1986 to reach the NBA Finals in FIVE games (his second year in the NBA). Even if he puts in equal hard work and practice doesn't mean he'll come close to producing a dream shake. I feel uncomfortable making this comparison. I think the best we can do is compare the defensive improvement. There is nothing at all right now that I see in Griffin that lends me to say he'll develop any low post moves on the level of the best ever....the 101 dream shakes. But, no doubt his outside shooting is better.
You guys are making me teary eyed....listening that tale of dream against the lakers in '86. I saw the series but I was 10 years old. Hopefully, he continues to work hard and uses the outside shot to compliment his inside game and give him more space to work with. I think with his shooting prowess and hand-eye coordination he can be strong in the low post. What I haven't seen from him as of yet are strong ball handling skills (dream was weak in this department as well), footwork and jumping ability/athleticism. With Griffin, his game and his demeanor is so calm you could almost imagine that he could slam it so much better yet simply wishes to score and move on without much of an exclamation point. I'd really like to see his footwork in the post and his jumping ability. Though some may say his blocking shots means athleticism, I tend to partly agree. I think it has more to do with waiting till the perfect moment, timing and hand eye coordination than simply jumping skills. And you are right its wrong to ever compare anyone to the Dream, but the fact that it is even considered is a testament to the potential that he has. Imagine if he is even 75% the player dream was and having Francis, Mobley, Taylor, Mooch and the rest to play along side him. Wow.....
Let's just say that Griffin is a different player than Dream. Griffin definitely has better range and he passes better. But Dream is\was the better athlete, his feet may be the biggest difference if you try to compare the two. Dream and Kevin McHale are the most agile big men in NBA history (Duncan will probably be right up there after its all said and done). But it does look like the Rocks' lineage of big men (Elvin, Moses, pre-injury Ralph, Dream) has a great chance of continuing through Eddie.
Gr iffin is significantly more skilled and experienced at the age of 19 than Olajuwon was, but, for that matter, so were most of the guys in college with Hakeem at the time...The difference is, Griffin, while a very good athlete, is nowhere near the level of athleticism that Hakeem was...He was a physical freak, which combined with his afore-mentioned work ethic, allowed for his incredible rate of development. Hakeem very well might be the most athletic big man the game has ever seen, and,as such, his 'ceiling' was way higher than Griffin's ever will be...I really like Griffin, but Hakeem was a once in a lifetime center.
At 19 Akeem handled a basketball like Gero Yuprimian (sp?) the legendary Dophins kicker handled a football. At 23 years of age Akeem was still slapping the ball instead of dribbling it. I think Dream was the most athletically gifted big man to ever play the game. Add a huge heart, unnatural desire and an increadable work ethic and the Dream turned into the best big man in history. Eddie at 19 is light years ahead of Dream at 19 but no one learned more about basketball in as short a time as Dream. If Dream would have grown up playing basketball imagine how good he would have been. Its hard to imagine. I can't wait to watch Eddies developement. It should be almost as fun as watching Dreams.
I think Dream is no doubt more gifted than Robinson. David Robinson is a REALLY STRONG guy, stronger than Hakeem I imagine, but Dream had more agility, speed, grace and hops.
I think Dream was both stronger and quicker than the Admiral. No other player in the history of the combined the speed, quickness, finess and power of the Dream. Dream was both a true finess and true power player. He had the quickness of a quard and the strength of a big man. For years Dream was always in the top ten in all of the big man catigories plus steals. Quickest hands in the league. Robinson was a great finess player but was way too soft in the paint.
I disagree, re: strength, and I think you're forgetting Hakeem when he first entered the league, when he was regarded as a strength/power guy...At both ends of his career, guys ( Moses Malone/Shaq O'Neal) called Hakeem the strongest player they ever faced... Don't confuse the fact that he emphasized playing with quickness...he was incredibly strong...
The original question was, "is Griffin at age 19 as good as Hakeem at about the same age?" At 19 Dream had just started playing basketball for the first time and he barely new the ball was round. At 19 years of age Griffin was superior to Dream. Period.
At age 19 Ralph Sampson was far superior to Dream when he was age 19 so yes Sampson and Griffin are better comparisons since they were both superior to Dream at age 19.
I'm not a Robinson fan, but he's one of the best Centers of all-time when it comes to running the court, with or without the ball. Olajuwon rarely ran down court for dunks, and he did not have the first step that Robinson had. Olajuwon obviously was quicker as well as just a better player overall, but Robinson definitely was faster, as far as speed goes.
