Blake Griffin is Really Good

Love actually isn't as bad anymore. His positioning is a lot better.

 

He gives up a crapton of points at the rim. Putrid might be a slight exaggeration but he is a poor defender overall. Better than before but that does not say much. I would say Blake is above average defensively.

 

First of all, Blake Griffin in his first 3 years in the league averaged over 20 points, over 10 rebounds, and over 3.5 assists per game. The only other player to do this was Kareem Abdul Jabbar. So anyone who thought Blake was not an elite player in this league knows close to nothing about basketball. This season, he has definitely grown a lot and it all stems from two things in my opinion.

1. He is knocking down his free throws. These free throws help contribute to his scoring, but more importantly, he is not afraid to get fouled. In the past, Blake would take strange and acrobatic shots to avoid going to the line. Now, it appears he is looking to get fouled and, unless he's doubled, he will put a lot of pressure on his defender to either foul or give up an easy basket.

2. He is knocking down the elbow 20 footer at a clip of about 45% this season. I used to cringe when I saw him pull up for that shot, but this year he's making it and shooting it with confidence. Last season, he was tentative and then put it up. This year, he goes into shooting motion almost immediately when receiving pass at the elbow. He is not as accurate as Kevin Love or Aldridge just yet, but when he gets to that point, he is going to be scary difficult to guard. It used to be his defender would leave him out there and dare him to shoot, now they have to come out and guard him. This means a couple things...he can blow by them for a dunk or the key opens up for an ally oop to DeAndre Jordan.

As it is, Blake already is putting up hall of fame numbers in his first four seasons, but, at only 24, he seems to have a ceiling that still has not been reached. I think he actually would benefit from working out with Hakeem because both Blake and Hakeem utilize their quickness to take advantage of slower defenders. There weren't any centers in NBA as quick as Hakeem in 80s and there are no power forwards as quick as Blake Griffin...unless you count Lebron as a power forward that is. Hakeem working with guys like Tyson Chandler, JaVale McGee, Amare Stoudamire, and Dwight is a waste of time because those guys are all power players and it's not like Hakeem can teach them to be quick. Really, it was Kobe and Lebron that got the most out of working with Hakeem because both improved their post games when they get a slower defender on a mismatch down low. Blake can definitely own the paint even more if he added the Dream Shake...or maybe we can call it the Blake Shake.

 

I really like his commercials. Best commercials since Peyton a few years ago. Peyton was rolling there for awhile. Remember when his commercials were hilariously funny? (not the recent Papa John"s commercials which are lame) Well, Blake Griffin has filled the void.

 

They did it in their career...but not in their first three years in the league.

 

There was actually a really interesting article I read a couple years ago...I think on Grantland...that compared Blake Griffin to Larry Bird. Even though Bird's game was outside-in and Blake is inside-out, their stats and their incredible ball handling and passing ability for their size make them very similar. I thought it was an interesting article because I never thought to compare Blake to Larry Legend. It is easier to think of him as a modern day Sir Charles, but that is just comparing style of play and not impact to game.

 

Yeah, you're right. Damn...look at those numbers Baylor put up in 1960-61. Vinny Del Negro reduced Blake Griffin and all the starters minutes down last year to rest them for the playoffs. Unfortunately it didn't work too well when Memphis knocked them out anyway. Doc has Blakes minutes up again.

 

griffin averaged those numbers in his first 3 seasons while not reaching them in each of the 3 seasons.

if you have to do it in each season, then technically baylor didn't average 3.5 apg in his second season, that is rounded up from ~3.47.

 

I have made two tipjar wagers here and both times the other guy lost and didn't payup. A few years ago (I think) I also directly contributed to this site but never got my Member status updated, which isn't really a big deal aside from being unable to edit posts. So you can understand my reluctance in doing transactions here.

Still, if the Clippers & Rockets meet in the playoffs and we can find someone to escrow, I will wager up to $500 with anyone. To me, this is a near lock, and not because I don't think the Rockets are good, but because they just don't matchup well with the Clippers. I would much prefer to play the Rockets than the Grizzlies, even though the Rockets are the better team.

 

Clippers have as much of a chance of winning the Championship as Michael Olowakandi has of making a comeback...

 

Clippy, I think the Grizzlies are toast this year if they meet up with the Clippers. It's the Warriors that I think the Clippers will have most trouble with and possibly the team they face in round 1. I do agree that they have the matchup advantage over the Rockets and Dwight Howard. I think they've beaten the Rockets 8 out of the last 9 times they played and I don't think Dwight has beaten the Clippers in like 3 years.

 

yeah but I just can't staaaand his current RedBull commercial that's popping up on every ESPN video :-/

 

Generally speaking you need to email Clutch when you do that, they don't actively check the donations afaik.

 

Seems he has a unique approach to scoring in the paint with his ability to bulldoze opponents for better positioning. I remember Shaq getting deep positioning using physicality and his junky trunk. He may not have Shaq's size but in that regard he is much more similar than the finesse big man like Hakeem or Amare. Even Howard has improved this season as he gets more physical before receiving post entry pass. Agree, disagree?

 

I don't think Blake Griffin bull dozes opponents in the lane. In fact, the biggest knock on him is that he is too finesse for a power forward with the sorts of dunks he throws down (See any of Charles Barkley comments) I think the reason is that he does have a limitation in that his arms are not as long as other bigs in the league and he is forced to go around vs through his defender. He has some strange looking post moves, but I think this is basically his compensation for the short arms. Blake's strength is his speed and ball handling skills (used to be point guard in high school). So, besides when he sees an opening and posters his defender with a dunk, he will attempt to dribble around his opponent and actually has a Dream Shake type move to lay the ball in around his opponent.

There have always been comparisons to Amare ever since Blake was a rookie and I think that mostly has to do with the fact that they are the only two PFs that are on the receiving end of the high pick and roll. Amare is also quite quick, but he is more of a power player and relies a lot on his elbow jumpshot. Blake does not shoot as well from the elbow, but he's getting there. Blake does have a lot more moves than Amare and is a lot quicker and a better passer. As far as Dwight goes, he is a prototypical power player. He will attempt to back down his opponent until he is close enough to dunk. Otherwise he will go for his running hook shot or turnaround hook that can be frustrating to watch. Dwight gets called for a lot of offensive fouls because he does try to out muscle his defender and I personally think a lot of refs think he's a douchebag and are happy to call him for an offensive foul. That said, I think a lot of refs think Blake Griffin is a crybaby and don't call it everytime he gets hammered.

So long answer short, I disagree because I think Blake is more finesse and will need a little bit of work on some go-to moves, but I see more Hakeem than Shaq in how he approaches his post moves. It's the monster dunks that make it deceiving.

 

Slestack11, as funny and ridiculous as this sounds, as much as people criticize Blake Griffin, at this point in his career, there's only handful of power forwards that stack up measurable to him, all of them are in the hall-of-fame.

Blake Griffin is one of the more exceptional talents I've seen in the NBA in the last few years (drafted players, since 07), along with Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Derrick Rose, and Russell Westbrook.

 

I doubt the Clips would sweep but chances are they will win if both teams are healthy. Definitely not a matchup a Rockets fan should want.