why does everybody think Griffin should be a star this season?

Ahhh what knowledge........ Bravo!!

Since Eddie is going to be our "best" player in 3 years, what do we do with Mo?

 

Trade his punk ass for a draft pick, so we can get a decent center or a defensive small forward.

 

I can agree with that. I personally think that Eddie is better suited at the 3, since he really doesnt have that much bulk and he shoots 3's like a guard.

Francis
Mobley
Griffen
Taylor
New Cato

I like that lineup.

 

Francis
Mobley
Rice
Taylor
Griffin

or:

Francis
Mobley
Thomas
Taylor
Griffin

 

What is the power forward's primary job? To block shots and rebound. That's what Eddie does best.

You want to take him away from that? That's real smart, let's have him running all over the place guarding the super-fast small forwards in this league. Who's side are you on? It's sounds like you're drawing up the game plan for the opposition. Sounds like a game plan to take Eddie away from his game.

He's not going to be skinny his whole career. Offensively he make a great post-up player. It makes absolutely no sense for him to waste his time on the perimeter throwing up threes all day. You want to turn him into another Robert Horry? A guy who hangs around the perimeter all game, does nothing, then takes the last shot of the game to redeem himself.

 

I actually think Eddie should play C or Pf... but...

you don't set a line-up, always, according to who's "proto-typical" for a position. It's often better to just put your best 5 players on the court. For the Rockets, that may mean Eddie playing out of position.

How do you know he'll make a great post player? The same things were said of Camby, and they never happened. I'd prefer Eddie to become a beast in the middle. But he might not, and there are worse things than weak-side shot blocking from the 3-spot.

I want

Francis
Mobley
Thomas
Taylor
Griffin

... unless Cato starts to really dominate.

 

Okay, rather than call him a "bust" in order to argue against him, or a "veteran" in order to do the opposite, let's look at what Mo does and does not do to help the team...

Strengths: Sweet little 10-15 foot J, extremely quick 1st step for a power forward....if there's anything else I'm, forgetting it..

Weaknesses: Rebounding, post-up scoring, defense, shot-blocking...

Okay, I guess it depends on what your idea of a power forward is. To me, Mo has a small forward's game in a power forward's body, and not in the Rasheed Wallace way where he can do the PF things as well, I mean his skills are mostly limited to the perimiter/elbow range, except on drives...like a SF. Except, he doesn't have enough SF skills (quickness, range, handle) to survive as a 3...SO whether or not you can afford to give up the rebounding, defense, etc. depends on who you have playing alongside him, and whether you think 15 points a game is worth it...

Okay, let's look at Eddie, while acknowledging that he's 19, and some of this will change...

Strenghts: Rebounding, shot-blocking, perimiter J, defense...

Weaknesses: Post-up scoring, bulk, handle...I know, he might improve some or all of these, but for now, this is what we've got.

So, there you are...Neither brings everything you want as an ideal 4, especially post-up offense, but in my opinion, Eddie already brings more of what you need, and given his age and room for improvement, it doesn't seem close to me. And this isn't about 'prototypes' as the only standard...The reason these 'prototypes' are in play is that they account for the areas a position is needed to fill, short of it being compensated by a non-prototype elsewhere, and we don't really have the type of player who can do that without sacrificing even more. So, on paper, it seems to me that Eddie brings more of the skills we need, and that Mo's one real contribution, mid-range offense, we already have enough of, at least enough that we don't want to sacrifice in other areas to get it...

So the only remaining question, and it's a legitimate one, is whether or not a player should ever lose his position due to an injury. I don't have an answer, but I would suggest that different teams/coaches have different philosophies about this, and that Rudy should apply the standard he's established. Have players in the past gone on the IR, seen someone play superior to them, and come back to a different role, or have their positions been automatically returned to them? I'll leave that for others to recount, right now I'm unsure...

Okay, that's my 2 cents...BTW, ever noticed that you put your 2 cents in , but you only get back a penny for your thoughts!?!? Capitalist running dogs...

 

Wow you sure know quite a bit about Eddie!! First "he is going to be our best player in 3 years.", and now somehow you know that he is going to gain weight??

This leads me to believe that you are either Eddie himself, his mom, or Cleo from the Psychic Friends Network.

 

Are you really that stupid?

How do I know that it will be hot in the summer and cold in the winter? Does that make me psychic?

All NBA players are required to lift weights. The Rockets have a nutritionist on staff. I'd imagine, since they are paying the guy, they might as well have him design a diet that Eddie can use to beef up, since that will help him in his position. It doesn't take a rocket scientist (but apparently someone smarter than you) to figure out that lifting weights and eating more food will help you gain weight.

Keep your stupid comments to yourself. You know nothing about basketball, so I don't know why you're in here.

 

Yeah, the mark of true basketball knowledge is resorting to personal attacks to make a point.

 

I should say the same to you, but then you would probably make a personal attack on my girlfriend. Not very cool by the way.

 

If you'll read the rest of this thread you will see that every one of my posts, except that last one was about basketball. Every one of Drewdog's was personal. I'm finally sick of his sh*t so it's time to put that punk in his place.

 

Drewdog,

I guess you're getting lazy.

Let me summarize your posts

1. Brilliant!
2. What a brilliant statement!
3. It's amazing because you're getting more brilliant every post!
4. Ahh...What knowledge...Bravo!
5. Wow! You sure know a lot about Eddie! You somehow know he's going to gain weight! This leads me to believe you are Miss Cleo from the Psychic Friends Network.

Are those personal attacks? None of those unnecessary comments have anything to do with basketball. That's not someone trying to make any sort of point. That's just someone being a punk.

 

I thought for sure you would giggle a little at the Cleo Psychic Friends Network comment. Its obvious to me and everyone else that reads this that you have no sense of humor whatsoever, but kudos for defending yourself so nicely. Oh yeah and thanks again for making a personal attack on my girlfriend. But I guess you never make any of those......

 

Does everyone pretty much feel its hopeless for Maurice to become a little more physical? Cause I remember a few dunks he had last year that were POWERFUL. and in traffic too. I thought he showed signs of becoming more physical, but his rebounding numbers always remained low. Of course he'll probably even be more scared now after the injury.

As for Griffin. I would also prefer he gets a lot of playing time next season. I'm talking damn near 40 minutes per game! However, I do think Maurice Taylor is a quality NBA player. The problem is that we just singed Mo to a six year contract! And we are paying him a starter's salary! When it comes time to sign Eddie to a long-term deal, how in the world are the Rockets going to be able to afford him? Plus, we're going to have Taylor coming off the bench while his salary could be preventing us from going after players at positions that we are weak at like small forward and center. This is just one of the reasons why I don't think Maurice coming off the bench is a very viable option. I just don't see how its going to work in the long run. And I don't care what anyone says, Maurice is NOT going to be happy coming off the bench for the next five season of his career, which are his prime years by the way. I think the Rockets are going to have to look to trade Mo by the 2003-2004 season.

 

You call THAT a sense of humor? You're about as witty as Carrot Top.

 

Thanks for the compliment. Oh yeah, and once again thanks for making a personal attack on my girlfriend.