I hope all this discussion, while interesting, is moot. Several teams showed interest in EG at the trading deadline. We probably didn't pull the trigger because of chemistry questions, showing that we were giving up on a player that cost three #1 draft picks, etc etc....and Atlanta, being an interested team, had to ride out the season on its false hope (at least to season ticketholders) that it would make the playoffs. But if EG/Cat or EG/Rice or whatever turns into SAR or Brand, well, good. Eddie doesn't have the fire we need and if he's the 4, his game doesn't compliment Yao's very well. EG can't even dribble. Whenever he catches the ball, that's where he's staying, or shooting, or whatever.
To answer the original question, Eddie is not a three. I think that he could be effective in limited minutes at the SF spot, but he lacks the ballhandling and shooting touch to play the three. Now, I keep on seeing people say that Eddie can't rebound, this is simply not true. Looking at the stats, Eddie averages 6 rebounds per game in 24.5 minutes, if you project that to 40 minutes a night, about the average playing time of a premier PF, Eddie would be pulling down 10 boards a night, that would rank in or near the top 10 in rebounds per game, so rebounding is not the issue, and don't forget that at 40 minutes a night, Griffin would likely be in the top 10 in blocks as well. I'm not saying that EG should be playing 40 minutes a night now, I'm just stating that he definitly has the potential to be in the top 10 in both rebounds and blocked shots. Clearly the issues with EG are strength, both upper and lower body, and a complete lack of a post game. I really believe that Eddie can develop into a very solid PF in the NBA, remember it wasn't until his fifth season that Jermaine O'Neal put up significant numbers. I know he didn't get hardly any playing time in Portland, but he was given proper time to develop behind strong frontline players such as Brian Grant, Rasheed Wallace, Clifford Robinson, Arvydas Sabonis and Gary Trent, all put up double digit scoring and solid rebounding numbers. That's the difference between O'Neal and Griffin, one was given time to develop strength and a post game, while the other was thrown into the fire as a starting PF in the deep Western Conference well before he was ready. Give the kid some time, yes he's made some mistakes, but who doesn't, he's still only 20 years old, give him another 2 years and watch him put up 15, 10 and 2.5.
I would like to see him get 30 mins a night and not look over his shoulder, but he gets into foul trouble because of his lack of strength. I would like to see him continue to add weight,about 10 lbs to improve his disadvantage. With Eddie frame and since he isn't a explosive athelete, eventually he could hold 255lbs easy. I would like to see him get stronger or bigger this yr by 10-12 lbs, work on his lateral quickness and explosion with a track coach and then see where he's at in terms of developement. After this season if he can't go 13pts 8-10 rebs then i'm all for trading him.
I think people do say that when he hits the three, because it's so flat... As for Finley, doesn't he slide over to the three in some of Nelson's rotations (Nash, Van Exel, Finley)?
How long did it take for Rashard Lewis to blossim! But people give up on him already! I know I did! Hope he proves me wrong though!
