Just close your eyes and imagine... five years from now... Ming 27 and Griff 25. Griff has been in the league less than two years. Ming less than a year. Just give them some time. Five years from now... they will be the most dangerous duo in the league. Twin Towers II Believe
Amare Stoudemire. I like Griffin's shotblocking ability and three-point shot, but for him to hold his own against the league's PFs, he will have to increase his on-court intensity and get stronger. University (Weight for Tomorrow) Blue
Griffin's rhythym gets shaken when bigger guys throw him around. He loses that smoothness. Believe me, once he gets stronger, he'll have no problem. He already has a Turnaround J, and a Hookshot/babyhook. If he bulks up, and adds one more move, he's the ideal PF for this team. He already gets putbacks and alleyoops. One more move (power dropstep, right out of Kenny's game would be nice) would make it perfect. Great rebounder, great scorer, with bulk, he'll be a great defender. Can score some without the ball. Can hit the 3. What else do you want? All this can easily happen by next season. Realistically, he has this year AND the next to develop. THEN, when he's not producinf consistently in his late 2rd and early 4th season, then he can be labelled a bust. Until then, he has time to get his stuff together. For now, what he brings is decent, and will improve with Kenny's departure.
It's the return of University (where ya been) Blue . Amare Stoudemire is just in a totally different class than the rest of the 20-year-old post players in the league. He is doing a lot of the things that I thought Eddie would be able to do after a full off-season with the Rockets like consistent rebounding and strong post man to man defense. I certainly agree that Eddie needs more weight for tomorrow if he is going to eventually turn into a force in this league.
Eddie is still developing his skills, but what will help him is the more playing time to learn things during the game. Keep in mind that is the only reason Yao Ming is as good as he is. You can only learn so much on the bench or not playing your natural position. One thing I think he needs to do more than bulk up is be willing to take the physical punishment and play more physical post offense and defense, but I have no complaints.
I'd like to see his basketball IQ improve. He does hustle and brings a lot of energy to the floor but seems to get in the way more than I'd like to see. Case in point in the Pacer game, there was one point he came across to try and set a pick for Francis but instead ended up messing up the spacing which lead to a Francis turnover. Yao was on the block and when Eddie came over there were 3 defenders bunched up that were able to both seal off the pass to Yao or Griffin and also gave Francis no room to penetrate.
EG is a major force on defense. Offensively we will take whatever he can give us whenever he can give it to us. He has established that he has plenty range on his jumpshot and his passing is improving as we saw with that clutch pass to Mobes. On any given night we can score 20 points. I would be more worried about MoT who is beginning to look like damaged goods.
heh. Amare Stoudameire is awesome. He came out of high school and he's 19. Like Stephen Jackson...good player but couldn't pass the SAT.
I was certainly guilty of that but I have since modified my thinking. A power forward that is not very physical. Blocks shots extreamly well but does not play good man to man defense. Gets bullied in the post. Shoots very good behind the arc and can sometimes contribute in the paint. Somewhat dissapointing rebounder. Sounds more like....Reaf LaFrentz
I would not have traded EG for a chance to draft Amare this past summer if I had been the GM...unfortunately I would have been fired
I disagree stongly with the first post. EG is progressing, although at times slowly. Eddie has started to develop a few post moves and despite his low FG%, hell one day start hitting those shots and he takes them more and more. Keep shooting EG. Also, with each game, his D is getting better and better. Its still not good, but you can tell he is learning. Last, a couple of games ago, he showed flashes of putting the ball on the floor, driving, and hitting a pull up J. Couple all that with his shot blocking and his ability to hit the occasion 3, and the future looks bright for EG. Hes only 20 years old.
I think we've been spoiled by Yao Ming's progress, and unfortunately Eddie Griffin gets judged too harshly for it. Many people (myself included) thought that it would take Yao a year or two to get adjusted, fortunately I was wrong. But Eddie is still getting adjusted. He is still trying to find his niche` in the offense and has shown tremendous ability defensively with his shot-blocking. While he may not turn out to be the next Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett, he may turn out to be Eddie Griffin. And I say this because the media and us the fans are too quick to try to label young players as the next whoever, and its not fair. Obviously the Rockets thought every highly of EG when they traded three first rounders for him. He has the talent and (that dreaded word) potential. Eddie is obviously who the Rockets want to use as the primary power forward, seeing as how they traded KT to the 76ers. Eddie isn't the physical intimidator that PF's of the past were. Eddie is of the new breed of PF's that can hit a jumper, and take their opponent outside allowing guards to slash in and penetrate or kick it out depending on the situation. I posed this question in a previous EG bashing thread: What do you expect out of Eddie Griffin? If you're expecting 20/10/5, then its not gonna happen. There aren't enough touches to go around. The Rockets obviously want Eddie to get better in the low post as the second post option behind Yao. They obviously want Eddie to be a defensive presence as they value that more than his offensive output. As for Amare Stoudemire, if I could have him on this team instead of EG, I would be at an impasse because I like both players. They have two different styles of play. Amare excites alot of people because he plays the game like the PF's of old. At times he reminds me of Moses Malone. (and its funny cause ESPN just used the same comparison) Eddie looks like the mold of a KG, or Tim Duncan, or a Rasheed Wallace. But the difference between him and those player is that they are the first or second options on there respective teams. Whereas Eddie is the fourth option. Give Eddie time. He is only 21. Amare Stoudemire has come into the league and done well because he is physically matured beyond his years. Thats why he dominated in HS, and thats why he does well in the NBA, because he has the body and the heart to want to be the best. And I take no shot at Eddie and his desire, because he lets his game do the talking. He doesn't jump in an opponents' face when he blocks them, and doesn't scream at his opponent or at the refs, and thats what I like about him, that quiet demeanor. IMO in two years we'll all be happy because Yao and Eddie will lead the league in blocks and we'll be a contender if not the best team in the league, so lets get off Eddie's case and watch this team grow together.
