When the summer started, I was hoping so much thata new coach, Pat Ewing, and a new season would turn Griffin into a solid player. All I really hoped to see from him was an improved jumpshot and as much muscle as he could add. Obviously, things didn't work out. Now as I'm thinking about this whole situation, I'm wondering what to expect. Will this experience end Eddie's career? Will it make him mentally stronger? Assuming he doesn't have to go to prison for a long time, and that he plays without suspension for a decent portion of this season, which way do you think Eddie will bounce? Personally, I think he's going to bounce back strong. I think he'll come back better than before. I don't know why because right now I have the lowest opinion of Griffin than I've ever had. No one knows what the business is with his daughter, his girlfriend, his "emotional" problems, or these alleged "drug problems". However, I do think that he's to blame for PART of it AT LEAST. What do you guys think? Is he going to come back better, or will he come back and see his career slowly slip away? I guess what I'm asking is, how will this whole mess affect Eddie Griffin the Houston Rocket?
I'm still hopeful. Others have come back from these types of problems. Eddie is 21. That increases the chances. Indications are that Eddie is not a hard core bad guy. Eddie came back this season looking more developed and played well the first game or two, though he had extreme problems getting his post-up shots to drop. So he has shown that he is not completely disinterested. If Eddie and we can hang in there,I think we could well have an improving player on our hands by the end of the season and certainly by the beginning of next year. Cato is the poster child for this type of patient approach. He certainly appeared to be as unmotivated or depressed as Eddie currently is. Don't forget the hundreds of extremely hateful posts about Cato. BTW did anyone see the touching piece by Cynthia Cooper with Cato. Cato's remarks about how he was doing better because he was finally getting some praise, which he had had a hard time getting before was moving. Many studies have shown that praise and encouragement are the best motivators. Why is it that many sports fans are always of the simplistic kick em in the ass school of motivation?
I think it depends entirely on what his 'medical' problem is right now.. As a fan, I went through this whole kind of mess back in the 80's when I was living in Dallas.. they drafted Roy Tarpley, a guy who, when he was on the court, appeared to have all the talent in the world.. literally a potential MVP for years to come, he was that good. (Think Dennis Rodman as a bigger stronger 5 with a shooting touch). However, the guy came out of college with a white powdery 20-dollar-bill jammed up his nose, and no matter how many chances he got, he could never kick his addiction, and it ruined BOTH his career and the Mavericks as an organization for well over an entire decade. I would not want that to happen to Houston. So, no matter how much talent, or potential talent, he has, if his problem is with coke or heroin or something like that, then I would trade him for a stale bag of chips before I would allow him to bring the whole franchise down. HOWEVER, if his 'medical' problems are 'mental' in nature, ie depression, bi-polar disorder, or one of the many debilitating phobias, such as what Rickey Williams had, then with the proper treatment he can rebound and become a good member of the team for a long time. There was an excellent article in SI a couple months ago about athletes and mental illnesses, and how there has always been such a stigma attached to it, so much so that most players with those problems would just hide it and never get help, and many had their careers and very lives destroyed. But now, more and more, athletes are being recognized as being people too, and many who need it are getting the help they must get. I sincerely hope that EG is suffering from some kind of treatable mental illness, and not a serious drug addiction. If he winds up getting treatment for 'Social Anxiety Disorder' or something like that, then we can all breathe a sigh of relief. But if he's in drug rehab, then you may as well kiss him goodbye. Hate to sound cold or cruel, but I care more for the Rockets as a team than I do for any one individual.
Having family in the medical professions some of the toughest kinds of patients to treat are those that are suffering some illness with a strong corollation due to other social issues that exist in their environment. Treating the illness itself doesn't mean that the social issues are addressed. If the social issues aren't addressed then chances are high that some or all of the root causes that lead to the illness still remain a threat. My gut hunch is that Eddie's situation seem's to be one of these cases. If this is the case then he certainly will have a tough road ahead of him. Lifestyle changes are some of the toughest for anyone to make including changing some fundamental patterns of thinking. Who he surrounds himself with as a support group will make a huge difference in a case like this- with emphasis on HE. In my opinion the jury is still out on his chances of recovery.
Didn't get to see that piece on Cato but that does not surprise me. His ego is very fragile and I think there was just TOO much expectations on him as the starting center in the post-Dream era. As the backup and now the forward there are less expectations. Cato is more comfortable being Yao's "second" and it shows. Everyone is motivated differently. Some get motivated by negative reinforcement and some positive reinforcement. It is up to the Coach to determine how the player should be motivated and then use those tactics. As for Griffin, I agree with the above takes. I think the fact he is in a hospital now is a great sign. The fact he is getting help NOW is important. It is the first step to recovery. If he can get help and put this behind him perhaps he will be more motivated than before to be a better player and a better person. I am taking the optomistic apporach here. Let's just give him some time and see what happens.
