And Matt Maloney is a point guard in the mold of John Stockton. Cato has no part of the defensive presence of those two guys.
It's very possible Eddie and Ming could have a higher block shot total than Horry and Olajuwon. However, don't confuse having more blocked shots with being a better defensive combo. Don't forget, Hakeem was one of the league leaders in steals. Also, he was a great defensive rebounder, which I consider part of defense. They did a lot more than just block shots. Jeff. As I remember it, the championship teams did a good job on the defensive boards. They were the worst offensive rebounding team in the league.
In Ming's game vs. the USA team, Ming collected three steals. Now I'm not saying in anyway that he will have the same type of shot blocking/steals as Hakeem, but I think there will come a time when we can see that his defensive game is one of the best in the league. Heck, the top "true" center in the league in steals is David Robinson with 1.10 steals per game. (Ben Wallace has like 1.7, but he isn't a true center) If Ming can average at least half of what he did at the USA game, he will be one of the best defensive centers in the game (stat wise considering he avg. around 2 blocks a game as well)
The thing that plays over and over in my mind is Yao going up for a block, the opponent thinking his up fake worked and then Eddie coming out of no where to knock the shot down. The way I picture it is almost comical. As if Eddie and Yao are just playing head games with the opponent.
I remember hearing last season that the combo of Griffin and Cato would make for one of the better shot blocking tandems in the league. Last year the Rockets ranked 14th in the league in blocking, which is fairly impressive given their relative inexperience and how many injuries they had. They averaged 5.4 blocks per game, and the league leading team, Detroit, had 6.8 bpg. With the addition of Ming, it is entirely possible that the Rockets could average 6.5-7 bpg. As Jeff mentioned, one of the biggest things that Ming will bring is his ability to ALTER shots. That ability is one of many things that made Olajuwon such a great defender. Shawn Bradley, the league's current 7'6" stiff, is not a good defender at all, but his ability to just stand still and put his arms up gives him about 2.5 blocks per game in very limited minutes. I have also read opposing point guard's comments that nothing is more annoying than trying to get a shot over a 7'6" guy. The Rockets, unlike the Mavericks, have the advantage of having additional shot blockers to support their big man. Eddie Griffin, Kelvin Cato, and even Steve and Cat should be able to provide some extra shot blocking because of Ming's presence. Much like Horry during Olajuwon's era, Griffin will have the ability to be a 'roamer' and get a lot of blocks coming from the weak side. Griffin also has unbelievable shot blocking ability in himself, much more than Horry did, and eventually may average 2.5-3 bpg on his own. Having a big guy in the middle who can block shots will create fast breaks, steals, and missed shots. It will also create intimidation for the other team, and will frustrate their guards and post up players. Having ANY 7'6" player is a huge defensive advantage, but having a young talent like Ming will provide huge dividends immediately, but only time will tell just how great he will be.
