今年1月的一篇旧文,不过还是贴上来跟各位版友分享~ 那一阵子他表现不太好... 自己又想太多,给自己太大压力,反而造成恶性循环 这篇文章有点长,不过喜欢Griffin的一定不可错过呢~ 我发现自己上一篇很多想法原来是出自於当初看了这篇文章之後XD 自己都没发现到~ 若有雷同 请勿见怪~ http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/rox/1725430 Jan. 5, 2003, 10:35PM BURDEN OF PROOF Griffin feels pressure of Rockets' belief in his potential By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle So many thoughts filled Eddie Griffin it was a wonder, carrying that excess weight, he could jump at all. In many ways, he has felt at times as if he couldn't. He considered the post moves -- all those drop steps and jump hooks -- he has been studying in a practice crash course. There are simple two- and three- dribble moves away from the 3-pointers he had been too willing to heave. Most of all, there was his new status as the starting power forward for a team in no mood to be patient, but in some ways, at least with him, now with no choice. "I've been thinking about it all too much," Griffin said. "I need to stop thinking about it and just play my game. I think that's when I play my best -- when I just play my game. I have to stop thinking." Griffin began the season as the Rockets' starter at power forward, took a stint on the bench, including a game in which he never saw the court at all, and became a starter again after Kenny Thomas was traded Dec. 18. The Rockets' decision to reduce the overcrowded power forward rotation to Griffin and Maurice Taylor might have been, at least in the short term, a gamble. But it also could be considered a calculated decision to give Griffin an opportunity to grow, a statement about their faith in his potential and a reason for Griffin to feel the pressure of new responsibility and expectations. "I think it gave us both confidence," Griffin said. "They traded the starter, so it's up to me and Mo to fill that spot." The Rockets' long-term plan likely was not to have Griffin as the starter in his second season. Taylor, however, is still working his way back from his ruptured Achilles' of last season, and playing three power forwards had made all three inconsistent. So far, however, Griffin has struggled with his new duties. In his seven starts since the trade, he is averaging 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds, making 34.5 percent of his shots. Opposing starting power forwards, including Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, whom Griffin will face again on Tuesday, have averaged 17.9 points and 7.9 rebounds. As much as facing Garnett can be an unusual burden, Griffin might as well get used to such headaches. The Western Conference alone includes All-Stars Tim Duncan, Chris Webber, Elton Brand, Rasheed Wallace, Karl Malone, Dirk Nowitzki and Garnett. Pau Gasol was last season's Rookie of the Year, and Amare Stoudemire is one of the top candidates to be Rookie of the Year this season. "The West is so packed with good fours (power forwards), every night you know it's going to be tough," Griffin said. "You know it's going to be a good fight. I like that." The Rockets do not expect Griffin to immediately take an All-Star spot at the West's most loaded position. But if the trade itself did not make enough of a statement of the confidence they have in Griffin's future, they will say it again. "The No. 1 thing was it was very hard for all three to play -- impossible, I thought," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "When I tried to play all three, I think it hurt all three. The other thing is the other two guys, I think, are very good players, too, but Eddie, he's our future. "I think he's a long ways from a finished product. He's only 20. But I think he can compete right now and help us right now. As the years go by, Eddie's going to add so much to his game, and we're going to help him along with that." There is much, Tomjanovich said, to add. As valuable as Griffin's 3-point range is -- particularly if it draws a power forward-sized defender too far away to double-team Yao Ming and offers a catch-and-shoot option for Yao and Steve Francis -- Griffin tends to settle for long-range shots at the expense of everything else. The planned remedy is to give Griffin a greater variety of offensive options. After catching the ball behind the 3-point arc, he has on occasion made quick moves to better shots. He has taken a few turnaround jump shots, a staple of his low-post offense in his one season at Seton Hall. But the idea is to add much more to Griffin's inside game, forcing defenders to stay down on his turnaround jump shot and making him less dependent on his touch from 24 feet out. "We're doing a lot of post-up stuff with him," Rockets assistant coach Larry Smith said. "He's very skilled at it. He's very skilled in the box. We got the drop-step stuff, the jump hooks. But we're trying to make him more comfortable down there. "The problem is getting the position, because he is not as physically strong as most guys right now; he's a straight up-and-down player. He gets pushed off the blocks easier. We've been working on that with him, and he's getting better at it. "We're also working on him facing up on guys. He has good moves on the low box. Getting him more comfortable down there is the key. He's the kind of guy, as he works more on it and uses it more in games, he'll be more willing to use it more and more." Said Griffin: "It's going good. He (Smith) is working on a lot of stuff, big-man stuff, with me." For now, Griffin's rebounding and especially his shot blocking (he has averaged 2.3 blocks since the trade as the Rockets have moved to second in the NBA in that category) have allowed Tomjanovich to keep him on the floor enough to contribute while learning. Determined on Saturday to play with a relaxed confidence and energy, to use those lessons to have a more well-rounded offensive game, Griffin got off to a good start and got seven rebounds with four blocked shots. But he made just three of 10 shots for six points and played just 19 minutes. "When I start missing shots, it's taken me out of my game a little bit," Griffin said. "I start thinking a little bit." There is too much to think about to avoid that trap completely. But that could be what it means to be a 20-year-old mix of prodigy and prospect. Still, the Rockets are no less convinced of the qualities that inspired them to trade three first-round picks to the Nets to get Griffin after he was taken seventh in the 2001 draft. He still has a rare knack for blocking shots, has unusual shooting touch at 6-10 and, by all accounts, is eager to work and learn. He also seems to know how far he has to go. But when he allows himself to think about it, Griffin shows no loss of confidence. "I know I'm not up there yet," he said. "I'm just going to keep working, and I know that eventually I will get there." --

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