I like to look at the facial expressions of the other players in the pictures. David West and Kobe's are my favorites.
The reason the Clippers lost in Cleveland was because Hickson consistently stopped Blake Griffin without help down the stretch. This wasn't the only play late in the game where Griffin came up short. Hickson may have given teams a blueprint to limit Griffin's effectiveness in the post.
sorry, didn't watch the game...what's the blueprint? and did anyone else notice how his face looks the same in every dunk ?lol...like an old man with his dentures out
Yeah but how long does it last? Remember, the man is in only his 1st full year....who's to say by year 3 he's making defenders have to come and guard him...but to a point...you are right.
When he posts up, give him a strong forearm. His spin move is predictable based on his first step. The defender must be strong enough not to get backed down under the rim easily, but athletic and tall enough to contest (or even block his turnaround). Griffin nearly always moves toward the basket when shooting from the post position. This makes his shot more likely to go in (because half the time he's trying to dunk it) but also makes it more blockable if the defender doesn't go for fakes and instead jumps when the ball is shot. I'm talking about this season only. Even very good rookies are usually limited in their offensive repertoire and defenses figure them out and force them to score in other ways. It's on them to develop other tools. I have no doubt Blake Griffin will successfully adapt because he is an incredibly hard worker. I'm strictly speaking about isolations. Griffin continued to be successful against the Cavs by moving without the ball. But when they just dumped it to him and he isolated against Hickson, Hickson clearly had him figured out. The key is to have a player athletic & strong enough to defend him one-on-one because if you double or triple he will kill you with unselfish passing.
