I know E.G. hasn't lived up to expectations, but I agree 100% with this post, on this team, he'll never be a Franchise player anyway, we already have two, with a shooting guard who can avg 20pts. How many 20 pt scorers would you guys like? I think if E.G. can consistently have games like his last two, he will be a perfect fit to the Rockets puzzle. I am too lazy to do the research, but I would be curious to see how E.G.'s numbers rank in Rockets losses vs. Wins, I would bet his best games translate into wins.
i dont have time to look at stats from all the other starting pf's and i dont keep up with every team, so i dont know about them all. but is e.g. really the WORST? doesnt boston start tony battie? not bad, but id take eddie over him. who is seattle's starting p.f.? how about the cavs? toronto? i do agree that e.g.'s field goal % is pathetic for a "power" player, but there is more to the package than that. he is a decent rebounder and defender and getting better, and above average shot blocker, and you must admit that for a big guy he has a pretty good outside shot. its unfair to compare his career stats with other more experienced pfs b/c eddie is only in his 2nd year. i still have faith that he will improve. just give him a bit more time. eddie is a 20 year old kid playing the toughest position in the toughest division in the toughest conference. the on the job training that he is getting right now will be invaluable in the comming years. i also checked out the stats from the other 3 much hyped big men from the lottery in 01 (who were all picked above eddie). t. chandler- 54% fg / 9 pt / 6.5 reb / 1.5 blocks e. curry- 57% / 8 / 4 / .75 k. brown-45% / 7 / 5.5/ 1 e. griffin-39% / 9 / 6.5 / 1.5 aside from the fg %, eddie is as good or better than any of the others. chandler will be a stud, but id still take eddie over kwame and curry. i dont know what the hell jordan saw in kwame brown! if any of the 4 will be a bust it will be him.
I don't hate him, though I'm really against players coming into the NBA before spending at LEAST 3 years in college. My take is that if Eddie was so sure he was ready to come to the NBA after 1 year in college, why should we as fans have any less expectations of him? However, Eddie's fundamentals make it pretty clear to me that he was NOT ready for the NBA after 1 year of college, so now the Rockets organization is paying him a salary to TEACH him how to play the game. It's hard to contribute while you're learning. Personally, I wish Eddie would be learning how to play against other teams' 2nd stringers instead of guys like Duncan, KG, etc., but I guess that's why I'm not a professional coach.
Do you mean he is about equal to them with the lone exception of actually putting the ball in the basket. Joke aside, along with his sub-40% shooting, he is 32nd among all power forwards in points per game, and 33rd in points per minute. I think that pretty much supports Artv's main point. I am hopeful and somewhat optimistic EG improves. I would like to see more tenacity and him to develop into an enforcer--but I just don't think that is him in character or body. But if he can take the best aspects of Donyell Marshall (rebounding, decent midrange game, ethic) and Robert Horry (consistent 3 point shot, good weakside or man D, ethic) and put them in one package he would be a great compliment to our team--that is what I am hoping. Fair or not, seeing the younger, stronger, less experienced, more intense, rookie, high schooler, & lower drafted PF up in Phx do what he is doing it is hard to not want EG to try to match that. I also noticed along with Chandler, Curry, and Brown, Amare was not put on that list.
who is eddie, there is an Eggie on our team, he has untapped potential and also a memo out on him that has gone around the league about his defense
Right now he shot 39% (same as his career average) and most of his shots were open shots with the space created by Yao or Francis . What do you think his shooting % would be like if he's getting double triple teamed like Yao or Francis? He simply didn't deserve more touches with this kind of shooting % with or without Yao.
Listen close to carayip! He's right on the money. As far as I'm concerned, EG IS THE ODD MAN OUT. Him and Posey are the absolutely deadest weight a starting rotation can have. I don't know where he learned his shooting form from, but EG's shot just ain't that consistent. PERIOD. My vote? Trade him while he still has value. theSAGE
He was not a bust but he did disappoint. Rockets certainly expected him to be a superstar otherwise they wouldn't trade 3 draft picks for him. And more people expected him to play better than Yao this season. So in this sense he disappointed.
Thank God we have MO TAYLOR. And what's wrong with Cherokee Parks? Cherokee dunked on Eddie and was sitting on him......and Eddie carefully dropped him.....and he got all pissed off. What was that about? Anyways.....Eddie brings barely any offense...sadly. I hope he will improve...but he is still a good power forward. I would like Mo to have more playing time than him....but Eddie should still start. Eddie and Posey do not fit. They can't shoot. And they aren't very intelligent. That won't help us....other teams would glady take them...but yeah..patience. Most of the playing time should go to GLEN RICE and MAURICE TAYLOR this season... Eddie and Posey need to improve in the summer.
I hate Eddie simply because he believes he's a 3 point shooter. He's not. He's a 6'10" guy with long arms. He should be playing inside. Also, when he's inside he can get offensive rebounds. He won't get offensive boards at the 3 point line. I understand Eddie's argument that he wants to be an all-around player. But he's no use to the team if he's a jack of all trades but master of none. He should concentrate on developing his post game first. If he wants to take an outside shot to spread the floor out for Yao, Eddie doesn't have to take an NBA 3 pointer.
Do you know why we all hate Eddie??? We hate him b/c he ought to be playing college ball right now EG is exactly why the NBA has to close the spiggot on all these would be high school phenoms. For all the talent in the world, what on earth is it worth if the guy has oatmeal for brains and custard for confidence??? Sure he's got talent, but so what? Everybody in the NBA has talent. Outside of block the occasional shot and grab the occasional rebound, what else can EG do for us? He's not your Robert Horry 3 threat. He's not even your Elton Brand 2 threat. IMHO, I think it's those "gears upstairs" not turning well. Read some of the recent press and you'll see that EG has a confidence/ego strength problem. He can't get over losses or bad performances, and he's dwelling on the past. The NBA can make headcases out of the mentally weak. Cases in point: 1. Kwame Brown (remember this flake??? going #1??? how does he compare to Yao?) 2. Sherman Douglass 3. Kenny Anderson 4. even Jay Williams to a certain extent EG has his own mental funks and that's just classic "maturation problems." Is it any wonder why EG rarely closes out games with the other starters? MoT has his number and EG knows it. angrySAGE
I'll also add that no amount of time can help EG grow. Once you're in the NBA, you're in. And unless there's some magic maturation pill we don't know about, what a pressure cooker ride it is from October through April. You rarely hear about these cases b/c the media knows, nobody likes to read abut headcases. Yet the NBA is full of them. Think Nick Anderson after those missed free throws. Even though he had a few more seasons in him, he was never the same. The NBA's gotta put a cap on this, if anything to: 1) keep kids focused on school 2) keep kids from making a big mistake of biting off more than they can chew theSAGE
What really puzzle me is: why EG is allowed to shoot so many 3? Rox coaches should understand better than me, those flat no-arc shoots must be a low % one. And SHOULD not be used as a weapon. Why they not just ban EG from perimeter shooting and ask him to attack the paint? At least, he got some charges for offensive rebound. Really confused..... KH
I'll tell you why, kh0001 b/c with this young "claylike" player, RudyT is trying to mold him into his own personal 3-point shooting power forward. Will it work? Will we be able to create our ideal complement to Yao and Co. out of clay? I doubt it. Where "skills" are concerned, there's only so much u can "mold" even at the ripe age of 20. Think back to those teenage years. Most great jump shooters start blossoming in their early/mid teens. Stuff like form/arc/rotation, doesn't change even with lots of coaching. And if you screw/tinker around with those shooting mechanics, you're liable to become an ever worse shooter who is more confused than ever. I mean c'mon, if we considered the more conservative assumption that EG doesn't progress anymore... how would you feel about him then? That's where I stand. I think his upside IS capped, but Rox mgmt refuses to admit it, thinking he's young and can be shaped. But great teams are not built on 'hope', they're built on 'substance'. Ask a fish to fly like a bird, and it he won't have a clue what to do. theSAGE
Actually I think Eddie should continue to take and work on threes. His 3% has been 33% the last 2 years. His non-3 FG% was 39% last year and 42% this year. Consequently his point per shot is much better for 3s than for non-3s. What we don't want Eddie to take right now is 15-18 footers, because for about the same % he can take a shot one step out worth 3 if he makes it. Offensively all we want from him right now is for him to find a good spot or two on the floor where he can hit a 3 with decent consistency and take lay-ups if there, nothing in between. Finally, a 33% clip at the 3 point line is not bad for a 20 year old 6'10" guy without good form. With a little work he could be in the high 30s--then he would be a steady and predictable contributer offensively. I think this is better than having him down low. He probably will never be Malone-Brand-Amare strong, nor Jamison-SOR quick around the rim, nor KG-TD-Webber dynamic where he would devastate offensively in the post. As I said before he we get a player with the best parts of Donyell Marshall and Robert Horry's games that would be a more realistic expectation, and a player that would really help us. I hope he works to be that player.
Everybody is talking about Griffin's potential. As far as I am concerned, if he can't capitalize his potential next year, we shall trade him for better.
that is cause, like i said, i was comparing the four draft-mates in 01. id take amare over any of them though.
