Griffin is the Rocket I can't figure out, and it pisses me off!!! His talent is unmistaken. But his layup misses are unforgettable. I can see this guy becoming a 20/10 guy if he can get his layup's in order. Gosh, he has so many opportunities to score, it's beyond comical. If he only hit those layups; because when we're talking about layup's a professional should hit 9 of 10 each and every time. 1 for 8 is pathetic. Griffin is the ideal player to play along side of Yao, but that guy better get the layups going because if he doesn't this team will be in a dog fight each and every night going at .500 again missing the playoffs. (Don't bring up Taylor because he can't rebounds and that's not the perfect PF for Yao).
Eddie is a youngen'.... not a man... yet. He's going to be a good player by the end of the year. Not no 20/10 guy. More like a 14/10/3 (blocks) type of guy. If not, he is gone.
Griff came into the NBA at 19, with just one year of college under his belt. One of the things you learn in collegiate basketball is fundamentals, form and function. Layups don't require tons of athletic ability. Thus, anyone can do it. But you actually have to practice those movements, over and over and over...you have to train you body to do those moves: Muscle memory! Griff, although gifted in both athletic ability (good leaper and long arms) and some apparent post skill. He's raw! He's rough around the edges. He's not polished. He has very little collegiate experience, a place were he could have learned how to shoot off the glass or make layups without even thinking about it. It's not 2nd nature to him yet. And that's how layups should be. You don't even think about them. You just do them, perfectly! Second nature. I have to say that not all players "need" collegiate experience to make an immediate impact. But I do think that Griffin did need it. As f4p and I have talked about. Some players just "get it" or pick up things faster than others. A good example would be Lebron James (H.S), Carmelo Anthony (one year of college and two years younger than Griffin), and Yao Ming. So, there's a lot of factors particular to each player: development of their mental game, development of their athletic ability, experience and age. Not one of those factors are mutually exclusive of the others. The few things that can help Griff is more training under JVG and time. But Griff has to WANT to do the work. Not just get by, or coast.
Right now I see Eddie getting 9 points and grabbing 6 or 7 rebounds, while blocking a tab under 2 shots. This is because Eddie won't be on the floor long enough to have better stats. FACE it he is a liability. He continues to blow wide open layups and 3 feet jumpers. Griffin has to improve on the offensive end more than anything. Everytime he misses shots you can tell it takes him out of the game. He gets reluctant and seems to disappear. Of course on this team Yao and Steve are your 20 point scoreres and Mobley is your 15 point guy. Eddie can be in Mobley's class on this team by the end of THIS YEAR, all he has to do is make his layups. But, if he continues to improve Eddie can surprise us all and become a 20 point scorer, even on this team. I say this because, by just getting rebounds and working off Yao's double teams, 20 points is realistic. Everyone here sees those 5 feet shots he gets but doesn't make. Sooner than later those will start falling in.
I'm sure rooting for Eddie to blow up this year, and I think he'll get his chance, but sadly I just don't see it happening. I'll stand behind whatever our coaches want to do with the guy, because they obviously know better than me what he can do, but I can't help but wince every time Eddie gets the ball on offense. He's bonked so many open shots off the rim and backboard that he's just crushed my faith in him. I give him credit for playing hard so far in the preseason, and I want him to succeed and help the team, but man... his shots are just so ugly. He's not really one to put the moves on anybody or dish it out well, either. But, hey, he's young. He'll get some more chances, I guess.
just remember,,, hes still better than kwame brown 1.Kwame Brown 7-0 250 PF Glynn Academy (Brunswick, GA) HS Sr. -- A freak. Kevin Garnett clone. Amazingly fluid athlete with great run/jump athleticism. A guard in a big man's body. Can run the floor, handles the ball like a small forward, passes extremely well. Was a guard early in his basketball career and learned to play on the perimeter before a late growth spurt. Upside is immense. Has more pure athleticism than Curry, but due to Curry's raw strength and the Shaq dilemma, he may go after Baby Shaq. Possibly a bigger, better, smarter version of Chris Webber. 2.Eddy Curry 6-10 300 C Thornwood (South Holland, IL) HS Sr. -- Due to the runaway freight train that is Shaquille O'Neal, the team with the top pick may choose to go for strength over agility (Curry over Brown). Curry is the type of prospect that in a few years could contend with Shaquille O'Neal. He isn't as big, strong, or agile, but might have even more touch, plus 11 years of youth. The big question is whether the fire will keep burning inside. 3.Tyson Chandler 7-1 220 C Dominguez (Compton, CA) HS Sr. -- Comprable to Rasheed Wallace right down to his volatility. Will have a hard time outdoing Sheed in the tech department, but has the same fiery, he hate me attitude. Didn't seem to progress a great deal from his junior to senior season, has a world of potential but questions linger regarding his desire. Sources say Jordan wouldn't touch him due to his lack of a killer instinct. 4.Eddie Griffin 6-9 205 SF/PF Seton Hall Fr. -- Dominated college basketball in terms of statistics but didn't prove that he was a) a winner b) a team player c) a level headed coachable player... a player who scouts have a wide array of opinions on. Some feel the off the court and psychological issues are inconsequential while others wouldn't touch him. ---------------- that is from nbadraft.net none of those players are stars yet, and they are all "supposedly" going to have a break out year, all their teams have given em chances, lets give eddie his
I appreciate the insight from everyone.It's very disappointing to see him struggle.I didn't expect major improvement but I was hoping that his technique and positioning had gotten better. I think his lack of improvement might keep us out of the playoffs again.
Eddie biggest flaw is his missed layups and close shots. He has plenty of opportunities. Curry and Chandler are getting noticed around the league. Eddie and Kwame aren't, because their fundamentals are lagging way behind. Eddie just make those freaking laups!!!!!!!!
Back in collage Griff had gotten into fights with his own teammates; discipline problems. http://nbadraft.net/profiles/eddiegriffin.htm
he seems to have taken care of all his psycho problems, and seems very humble, but i think we need him to be a MR. mean/sheed type player, but with a little better control on the anger side, basically a banger with a soft side... then again who wouldnt want one of those
I almost wish we had the Eddie who would get in fights with teammates. He seems to have gone too far in the other direction -- no obvious temper problem but he seems like he just doesn't care. From what we've seen so far I think Mo's got as good a chance of learning defense and rebounding as Eddie does learning to put the ball in the hole. It'll be a good race. I just hope one of them wins.
I think eddie's biggest problem is he doen'st attack the basket strong. I don't know how many times last year, i saw him fade away right at the basket, its almost like he's afraid of contact
Just like Nachbar, EG needs the opportunity to mature on the court. You do not give up on a PF that can block shots. The guys that want EG gone would have gotten rid of Jermaine O'Neal before he was given a chance in Portland. JUST RELAX AND GIVE THE KID A CHANCE TO MATURE.
I think Eggie could play a role on offense very similar to Cato. With Yao operating either on the LLB or the high post, just put Eddie in the post area on the right side and let him get easy dunks whenever his man leaves to double.
The question for me is, can Eddie guard his man? PF's a tough position to play in the West, but if Eddie wants to start, he needs to be able to handle his assignments. Weakside blocks are nice, but if your man's consistently going through you, you're a liability, and we can't have a defensive liability starting in the frontcourt with Yao.
