Clippers: Doc Rivers will use Blake Griffin as small-ball center

The Los Angeles Clippers can utilize Blake Griffin’s talent in many ways, and Doc Rivers plans to give him some minutes as a small-ball center going forward.

With Blake Griffin back, the Los Angeles Clippers have their superstar power forward, possessing the kind of athleticism, scoring, and playmaking ability that many other teams long for. However, thanks to Griffin’s stellar versatility, he can be further utilized as a small-ball center to improve the team’s spacing and ball handling from every position.

Over his All-Star-filled career it’s always been a viable option. He spent at least 24 percent of his time at center over his first three seasons, although that number has decreased significantly since due to the increased role and impact of DeAndre Jordan, falling to two percent and 16 percent in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively.

Nevertheless, while Griffin looks to find form and work back to being the dynamic player he is, it’s no surprise that Doc Rivers wants to return to his small-ball tactics with a center he can actually rely on.

Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com has reported Doc’s plan to make use of Griffin with some minutes as a small-ball center as his comeback gets underway:

"“I want to see him at his normal position 95 percent of the time,” Rivers said. “But, yeah, I want to see him at the five at times, too…I do think it’s a great lineup for us, and so we’re going to use it,” Rivers said. “Hopefully, we can get it going during the playoffs”."

Jordan also spoke about the Clippers’ versatility, mentioning the spacing they’ll have with Griffin at center and a wing like Jeff Green at power forward, providing far more range than when Jordan himself is on the floor:

"“I think we’ll be able to switch a lot more, spread the floor a lot more with Blake at the five, Jeff at the four, things like that,” said DeAndre Jordan. “We have so many weapons with a full, healthy team that both units, and even our small unit when we use it, is going to be great.”"

Yes, Griffin won’t be himself at either power forward or center quite yet. He needs time, just as anyone would after dealing with multiple injuries and missing more than three months. Unfortunately for the Clippers, though, they don’t have time, with only two regular season games left before the pressure of the playoffs and whether they’ll finally escape the second round is thrown upon them.

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However, Griffin is taking steps in the right direction to be the player his team needs him to be, in terms of confidence, production, and explosiveness.

After setting new highs across the board since his return, tallying 17 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in a 98-91 win over the Dallas Mavericks, the near triple-double reminded us what he has to offer. It’s a reminder of what he could offer as a small-ball center, too, even if it’s only for a few minutes a night.

For a more detailed breakdown with some examples of exactly how that’s the case, go ahead and click here.

The Clippers will need Griffin’s versatility in the playoffs, to both surpass their woeful attempts at utilising small-ball earlier in the season (it’s best to completely forget that lineup with Josh Smith at the five) and to have a chance of keeping up with the versatility of a historically dominant force like the Golden State Warriors.

The latter is a long shot, but the Clippers have to do something to beat the best this year. And next to Chris Paul, Griffin is going to be at the forefront of that push as always.

Next: Kobe Bryant and the lasting impact of his retirement

Only time will tell exactly how well this works out and exactly how Blake takes control of the upcoming weeks.

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