With these playoffs on us, and the Rockets on the outside looking in, I still find it curious as to hy so many people are so high on Eddie Griffin. I watch , as I have since he entered the league the like of Zach Randolph and Jefferson. Both are young players in their own right especially Randolph who is 1 yr older than Eddie. He basically got no time last yr because he had a all star in front of him which is understandable. This yr, his time was still limited, but you can see the upside and overral improvement of this guy. Soon as he cracked Mo Cheeks rotation, he's never left it. Now in the playoffs after cheeks realized Wallace is more of a small forward as opposed to a power forward, Randolph has given them something they probably haven't had in a while. A foul drawing low post back to the basket power forward. He's responded by putting up 25-15, then 20-9 in back to back games.Now everyone will be quick to talk about Eddies upside as a defensive player, which is true, but his ofensive game is light yrs behind Randolph is terms of scoring in the post,drawing fouls and whatnot. So I ask the question, when will posters on this board be ready for eddie potential and production start to match each other before management realizes he's Donyell Marshall maybe?
Some good arguments and I agree with a lot of them. That said, and I am not as high on EG as some, sometimes players develop at different rates and EG has shown some flashes in terms of 3 pt shooting, blocks and sense of the game. Eddie is certainly more so in the neighborhood of Miles, Brown, Chandler and Curry in terms of development rather than Stoudemire, Gasol or perhaps Randolph--but then again Jermain Oneal really didn't start taking off until a year or two ago.
Thats true, but unlike J'Oneal, Eddie is playing significant time. O'Neal was playing about 9 mins a night as opposed to 25+. After avg 13-8 as a starter last yr, I was really expecting him to do at least that this yr. I was also expecting him to cut out on his 3pt attpts and improve his fg%. The hope is, KT's first couple of yrs, for some reason Rudy had him taking 3's, then last yr, he didn't shoot hardly any and his fg % went up.
for every player thats shown up, theres still players looking to. for every jefferson theres a kwame, randolph theres a griffin. gausol theres a chandler. sagana diop? curry? which of these guys have shown up yet? not 1 of em. all of em have shown at 1 point or another in their first 2 years that theres superstar inside of em, and then they dissapear, all of em average 10 pts or less.
I really don't have a big problem with EG shooting 3s. His career numbers are right with other 4s such as Horry, Wallace and Marshall (all between 32-34% in their careers). Given his youth and poor shot form--with just a little improvement he could be a darn formidable mid-high (36-38%??) three point shooter for his position. To me EG really needs to work on finding spots on the floor where he is effective though, I hate it when he takes 18-20 foot shots where he doesn't look comfortable. He also really needs to get stronger and work on his 1 on 1 low post defense against elite WC caliber 4s. Those should be his 2 aims of the off season--not developing low post/inside moves IMO (this can come later--it is more difficult to develop). But I can see the potential for EG to be somewhere between a Sheed and an Horry--I think it is up to his work ethic to make it happen. Such a player would be a fine role player.
You don't predict a player t be the number 1 player in the draft and hope he turns out to b like Horry though. When you draft a player top 10 in the lotto, you're expecting a consistent all star performer, not a avg role player like Horry who was chosen 12th or 13th. Also someone made the reference for every Gasol theres a Diop, or for every player theres this guy, but looking at it now, Chandler and Curry started to play better despite not playing at all last season. Last season Eddie got some seasoning that Brown,Chandler and Curry didn't get and most would think he would progress astre, but in terms of developement , he seems behind Curry and Chandler and pretty even with Brown.
they all played between 15-25 mins the last 2 seasons. curry, chandler not playing at all last season? they both started over 30 games last season. griff started about 25.
I don't think you'll see the last of Griffin in a Rocket's uniform just yet. He hasn't produced enough yet to trade for something as good as or better, additionally we paid way too much to not let this investment play out at least one more season. We need power forwards and we'll loose our only # 1 pick to Memphis. Whatever is wrong with the Rockets, Griffin is a minor aspect. Try Taylor, Norris, or Rice for some real unproductive problems. I also feel we should keep Mobley. I've seen some scuttlebutt about him possibly leaving. I doubt that also. Both these guys need better coaching and off season training, develpoment.
I want him gone. Don't know. Rockets drafted him without even watching him workout. That's pretty sad. And now look at him. And now look at Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and Brandon Armstrong. I liked Eddie....nobody was really high on him. He was high.. Anyways.....I love it when he makes 3's. I just hate how he shoots. The three players we traded for him can all make free throws. Eddie is like a 50% free throw shooter. He only goes to the line like 1 time per game anyways. He is young....but he can't dribble. He is skinny. He is improving. He actually plays OK defense. He's just young. He can't shoot. Bad foundation. No training. He has potential. But the Rockets shouldn't wait for him to develop.. He has like no 1on1 game at all. He doesn't fit with the Rockets' style of offense...which is ISOLATION all day! Zach Randolph would fit. Eddie could be small forward?
I agree that Zach is ahead of Eddie now. But IMO, Eddie's has not had good coaching so far in his NBA career. I say this because I saw a significant change in his game towards the end of this season when he started focusing on his inside game. My question then was where was that part of his game before then? It is the job of the "coaches" to force him or encourage him to pay less emphasis on the long range shot. Also what about his shoouting arch? We have coaches under contract and no one corrected that flaw? David Carr came in last season with a "throwing arch" problem and it was reported that the coaches corrected it or tried to by making try to throw over tall objects. The deliberately worked on it and there was a change from his college throwing style to that of his first NFL season. So why did Eddie's arch not change all season long? Finally, the ultimate blame rests onn Eddie's shoulders because it is his duty to develope his points in the off season from shooting arch, inside game and all. That is what the great ones or those who want to be great do. I still believe in Eddie and I believe he will be here next season. We have waited this long for him to develope - let puts an extra effort by bringing in quality assistant or personal coaches for Eddie. Eddie need personalized coaching in order to bloom into the beautiful flower we anticipate he came become. He is still young and he is a BIG MAN. Just get him some more HELP. Go Eddie!!!
At 6'10 and long arms, if he just a simple jump hook and could shoot consistently from 15ft not 23 ft , he could be very, good for this team. In order to have a jump hook, his footwork must be sound which it is not. He like Taylor doesn't draw contact, so he'll never be a great scorer, but he could be competent scorer. taylor developed it and all the big men the Rockets has ever had has had it. If Eddie had Otis Thorpes's offensive game which was very limited, he could be a pretty good player. Is it anyway the Rockets could have Eddie come back to Houston early to work on these things? Is he willing to put in th hard work required to be a good player? Is Eddie going to be Joe Smith,Donyell Marshall,or J.Oneal. Right now, he's on the Joe Smith path.
I actually like Eddie and would love for him to be the "4" of our future but I have been soured on him this last year. I haven't given up on him but am not as "high" on him as I was in the past. At this point I am looking for trades for Eddie but am by no means going to give him away for a song. Unless I could get an Elton Brand back in return I am not trading Eddie away. Before last season I would not have traded Eddie. Quite frankly this summer is aboslutely huge for Eddie's development. He has to come away from this summer with a decent post up game and some sort of hook shot. He has to show better handles and has to put on more weight and show more agressiveness. The PF position in the west is a MAN's game and he has to step up to the plate or else he will get run over. If Troy Murphy of the Warriors can over the summer put on 10-15lbs of muscle and improve his game where he is averaging around a double double then so can Eddie! Next year I expect Eddie to average around 12ppg and 9-10rpg, while shooting at least 45% from the floor. We need to see that type of improvement in Eddie or else he needs to be sent packing.
I'd be willing to give him more time only if he showed "flashes of greatness". To me, every great player who started slow at least had a few games that made you say "man, he's really going to be good when he..." I just haven't seen that game yet from EG. The only time he scores more than 20 points, it's just because he hit a few 3's. If he grabs more than 10 boards, it's almost like they fell into his hands. How many "great games" has EG had in the last 2 years? I just haven't seen any production OR potential from him. Other players with less hype have passed him IMHO. The only thing EG passes is the bong.
Lee- Look, no excuses for this year except for the entire team being a bunch of ball hogs . The kid will have his coming out party this year. I'm taking note of all the people that are dogging him. I told you guys about Cato last summer; many of you guys laughed at me. This will be Griffin's year!
Man, I really hope so. Right now he still has the "potential" tag on him, and rightfully so, but if he doesn't make a big improvement next season his trade value will take a nose dive, imo. I certainly wouldn't give him up for a role player, but if he could be packaged with someone else for an impact player we need... then adios, Griffster.
The main difference between Zach and EG is strength. When you are 6'10" and lack lower body strength, how are you supposed to get position on the low block? It is hard to play with you back to the basket from 15-20 feet out. Now, I am not defending EG, simply pointing out a difference that has a pretty big effect on his game. And anyone that thinks strenght isn't important to a post up game, I'll put out an open invitation to try and post me up starting around the foul line. I am 6'3" and 240, and I can squat close to 5 bills. See how close to the basket you can get
IMO.. Houston gave him too much playing time.. they didn't make him earn his position, they just put him in the starting lineup too often and said do your best.. and now this season I believe he should stay in the team.. just as long as he puts on more muscle and sits on the bench more often.. its not like hes earning alot of money
