Apr 26, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (32) attempts to save the ball from going out of bounds against the San Antonio Spurs in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
One of the main reasons Blake Griffin doesn’t get to dominate as a rebounder is because he has DeAndre Jordan next to him. Yet when head coach Doc Rivers took Jordan out the lineup during most of the final quarter in game four, it was Blake Griffin who controlled the boards with ease. Not only was it vital in allowing the Los Angeles Clippers to hold out for a win, it proved just what Griffin can do when he’s the primary big man on the floor.
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During the earlier stages of his career, especially his rookie season, Griffin impacted the game as a rebounder at a far more noticeable level. After exploding onto the NBA scene with a 22.5 point and 12.5 rebound per game rookie season, the only major flaws of Griffin’s game were his free throw shooting (64.2 percent), weak defense and limited range. Although, he more than made up the for latter due to his freakish athleticism and show stopping dunks.
After being such a force in the 2010-11 season as a rookie, though, his rebounding numbers gradually decreased over the next two years. Griffin went from 12.1 per game, to 10.9 the next year and then a sharp drop to 8.3 the year after.
When people have looked at this aspect of his game at face value and only choose to look at basic statistics per game, they nearly always begin to criticize. But it’s not that simple.
After Griffin played for 38 minutes per game as a rookie, his playing time continued to drop. The next two years it decreased, and by 2012-13 he was down to just 32.5 minutes. It soon turned around the following season, when Chris Paul missed 20 games and Blake stepped up as an MVP candidate during his absence, but the reduced playing time and the rise of Jordan altered the respect we have for his ability to hustle on the boards.
Whilst Griffin received less action, Jordan’s playing increased as his defensive abilities began to shine through.
In Blake’s rookie year, Jordan only played 25.6 minutes a game. Now, across the last two seasons in which he’s led the league in rebounding, Jordan has played at least 34 minutes each night. So with Jordan’s rebound percentage of 24.5 this season, it’s hardly surprising that Griffin’s has now dipped from 18.6 as a rookie to 12.1.
In game four, though, we saw Blake Griffin illustrate exactly what he’s capable of when Jordan isn’t taking all the credit.
Apr 26, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (32) grabs a rebound against the San Antonio Spurs in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
After the Spurs crushed the Clippers 100-73 in game three, yesterday became a must win situation if L.A. wanted a chance of making the second round. And behind the startling performance of their bench, the pace and efficient shooting of Chris Paul, and the impact of Blake Griffin in all areas of the game, the Clippers managed to come away with a 114-105 win.
It was essential, yet not expected. The Clippers showed how unstoppable their offense can be in game one, but the Spurs looked so strong in game three it was a tall order for L.A. to stay in San Antonio and leave with the series tied at 2-2.
The overall effort of the Clippers was exactly what it needed to be, though. They shot 53.6 percent from the field (compared to the Spurs’ 44 percent) and their bench provided 33 points, including 16 on 7-of-8 shooting from Austin Rivers.
A surprisingly strong performance from their second unit, led by the one-two punch of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, has made this series one that could quite well stretch to seven games. And even though Paul received most of the praise last night, Griffin was just as integral as ever.
More importantly, he continued to demonstrate his increased aggression and hustle.
Apr 26, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (32) shoots the ball over San Antonio Spurs power forward Boris Diaw (L) in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Over the last four games, Blake Griffin has showcased why he may just be the best power forward in the NBA. He needs to improve defensively (especially when guarding pick-and-rolls and protecting the rim), but he does everything else at an elite level.
He’s averaged 22.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks this series. There aren’t many players in the league who are capable of that. Or, in terms of power forwards, there aren’t any who can do that.
Griffin’s improved range (now shooting over 40 percent from 16 feet out) and free throw shooting (a career best 72.8 percent this year) have helped add diversity to his offensive skill set. More than anything else, though, his passing ability is what really separates him from the competition.
Through both his scoring and passing this year, Griffin produced 34.5 points per game (12.6 with assists). He even averaged 2 more assists per game than any other power forward. Which isn’t too bad, when he’s famous all around the world just for dunking.
That’s not the main thing we can take away from yesterday, though.
When Jordan received limited minutes in the fourth quarter, Blake rose to the occasion in the best way possible. He flew to the rim whenever he caught a glimpse of a missed shot to grab a rebound, and he hauled in 10 in just the final quarter alone.
Apr 26, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (32) posts up against San Antonio Spurs power forward Tiago Splitter (behind) in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Griffin finished with 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting, 7 assists and a playoff career-high 19 rebounds. The scoring and passing is always there, but his dominance as a rebounder is something we don’t get to witness as often now. Whether it’s because Jordan is fighting for his life to grab every defensive rebound available, or because Griffin’s increased role as a facilitator from the top of the key has drawn him away from the paint to grab offensive boards, he’s not fully shown what he can do.
Yet game four was proof of his ability. With Jordan on the bench late in the game, the Clippers still outscored the Spurs in both the third and fourth quarters. Because of Griffin, they controlled the glass when it mattered most. So to highlight just how well he played yesterday, Blake finished the game with a +/- of +14. Jordan, on the other hand, ended with -5.
Just because Jordan controls the glass when he’s on the court, it doesn’t mean we should overlook what Griffin is capable of. And yesterday gave him the opportunity to prove just that.
As impressive as the near triple-double numbers have been every night (including an actual triple-double in game two) yesterday was about Blake Griffin reiterating the hustle and aggression that have helped allow his Clippers to win two games of this series.
This doesn’t just say a lot about Griffin’s game, it also means that Doc Rives can bench Jordan to keep the offense going, due to how well Blake performed as a rebounding anchor.
It was only one game, but it’s still a very convincing sample of Griffin’s full potential without Jordan around.