Honestly... i was very UNIMPRESSED with him. I was at the game vs Thabeet.... and they both looked like crap. Thabeet was horrible - looked to have no skills and that his height was his only attribute. Griifin had some moments... but they were all on allyoops or feeds where he was wide open. At least twice within 5 minutes, he got the ball in the low post, tried to drive and jus got stuffed! Now that said, I havent seen much of Griffin, he can certainly make some highlight reels, but his ineptness in the lowppost with a defender spotting up on him really shocked me. Griffin also got his pocketpicked on the lowpost... Led me to believe that he's used to be the dominate player on the court and he's kinda lost when he's not. I don't know how well he's gonna adapt to the NBA - when he's gonna be playin people with equal or greater skillsets on a regular basis....
well good luck to blake on making the All-Star team in the western Conference Specially with Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire, David West, Pau Gasol, Al Jefferson, etc....and i think Blake is little overrated , the guy is 6'10 with a 6'11 wingspan, so his size isn't that great its pretty close to average. Plus he's coming into one of the greatest Power Forward era's of all time three MVP'S were power forwards this past decade Tim, Kevin, Dirk (which i think are the top three) not to mention all the young Power Fowards, like Stoudemire, Jefferson, West, Aldridge, etc. I see him becoming more like a Kenyon Martin with a jumper, which isn't bad at all...
Griffin's ascent to be a all-star depends on how much he keeps improving. If he develops an automatic mid-range jumper, he WILL be an all-star eventually because he's too explosive to guard that far away from the basket. I hate to use the term "poor man's Amare", but that's what I see. He lacks Amare's length and some of his vertical but is much stronger. Griffin is such a hard worker I have no question he will get there. But after 2 seasons? Very doubtful. Can Griffin pass David West by next season? Definitely, because he is much tougher, mentally and physically.
He has real potential. Garnett type and Duncan type of potential. We wont know till he plays the NBA competition. He seems like a Amare before Amare got injured to me except smarter skills wise and with more rebounding.
Don't forget that all-star game happens midseason. If Blake Griffin is going to be an all-star in his sophomore year, he has only 1 and a half seasons to get selected. I don't think he can surpass the Tim Duncan, Dirk and the all-star forwards that quickly. After 2 seasons, he might be able to get into the All-Star.
Yeah, he was a young, developing player on a bad team. He didn't see a significant amount of PT early in his career, and he averaged under 8 point/game in his first two seasons with Boston, so it's understandable that he didn't receive any media attention. He has averaged over 20 points/game and a double-double the last two years with the T-Wolves. He's a force, and his numbers are comparable with the dominant big men in the league. Next time Minnesota comes to town, keep an eye on him. I hate to say it, but he absolutely owns Yao Ming.
no doubt Big Al gives Yao trouble on the offensive end but owning him means being extremely efficient . The last game Big Al need 12 more FGA to score 6 more points, Big Al was blocked 6 times, 5 of them by Yao. Defensively Big Al is lacking, while Yao anchors the defense. To the Credit of Yao, I really don't think Big Al owns him. Big Al gives him problems.....like any mobile center.
I just got back from Vegas. While out there I caught some summer league ball. I caught the Clippers and Griffin. His size, handles, and shot are impressive. The guy is going to be special. Seeing someone his size do the things he can do is a sight to see live. B-diddy and Dunleavy were courtside watching. Blake signed autographs afterward and there were a bunch of Clipper fans there as they were trying to do a hard sell to the fans. It was pretty funny to see. But Johnny Flynn really made an impression on me. Beaubois as well. Flynn is lightning quick and his shot is silky smooth. Entertaining to watch him on the floor. Beaubois is raw but he's got great court sense. This league is going to be full of nice young point guards. All in all, a great experience if you ever have a chance. Players were walking around in the stands, GMs, writers, and coaches were everywhere. I yelled out at Sam Cassell, as he was coaching the Wizards summer league team. It's just cool to be that close to the players and to interact with them. I wish I went earlier to see the Rockets play, but it was a good time nonetheless. Highly recommended.
A question to you or any others who saw him live: Does Blake Griffin get under the skin of opposing players? From watching him play, seems like opponents really dislike the guy.
Is he a legit 6-10? He looks rather short to me. He reminds me a little bit of Boozer with more athleticism.
I'll say this. He plays really, really hard. The guy took a header going for a rebound, had a Snickers "I'm Batman" moment. Then went back in. He was consistently being physical and drawing freaking double and triple teams, while his teammates acted clueless as how to take advantage of it. But he was pretty physical. His post game leaves a lot to be desired at this point. But he gets intense. At one point yelling at his point guard (very inept Mike Taylor who sucks) and then going to the bench during a stoppage, pulling up his jersey to his face so nobody could see him mouth the cursing going on underneath. But when you see him grab a board and and go behind the back dribble a couple of times, and pull up for three pointers without hesitation (which you don't want to ever see from your big man), it's pretty eye opening. The other eye opening thing was watching Kevin Durant (who didn't suit up) from OKC's bench in flip flops, flick up shots while sitting in his chair on the bench during the half like it was a ping pong ball and hitting some.
Not sure. I'm interested to see how he will match up with bigger guys. But he's a load and can play above the rim. Pre-game dunks were really fun to watch.
Rubio may not even be the best point in this draft. My money is on Flynn at this point. I do like Rubio though.
I have not seen much of him but I think he will be a good NBA player but I'm not sold that he will be a great one. He seems smaller than 6'10" to me (maybe it's the short wingspan) and his leaping ability isn't fantastic. Couple that with his small hands and I think he might have trouble finishing strong at the rim against bigger front lines like the way Carl Landry struggles (I'm not comparing the two guys so stop right there BBS patrol). His skill set also seems to be more comparable to a small forward than a power forward. There is nothing wrong with having a PF who can get to the basket from 18 feet out but I'm old school in that I want my PF to get most of his offense catching the ball down low instead of using the dribble. His work ethic and effort seem very impressive so I don't see how he won't succeed but I just don't know if he has the physical gifts to excel to the level of Duncan, KG or even guys like Dirk. Good luck to him. He seems like a great kid.
Draft measurements 6'8.5" without shoes 6'10" with shoes There was also a change in when the measurements were done. They were done early in the morning instead of lthe evening. As the spine compresses, people tend to lose half an inch in height. Ty Lawson, Danny Green, and Wayne Ellington were in the 2008 and and the 2009 camp. As expected, their 2009 measurements were exactly half an inch taller. http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Analyzing-the-NBA-Combine-Measurements-3237/ Blake Griffin would be 6'9.5" in shoes, when compared to previous draftees who were measured in the evening.
