Blake Griffin matched a career-high 11 assists as the LA Clippers crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-94, and showcased just how deadly he is as a passer when defenses gravitate around him in the post.
The LA Clippers were coming off three straight disappointing losses, capped off by falling in double overtime to none other than the Brooklyn Nets. They desperately needed a win. Doc Rivers erupting on the sidelines in Brooklyn and DeAndre Jordan calling out the team’s attitude showed that. In hot pursuit of that bounce back win, though, the Clippers got one in the best way possible; they went on the road to beat the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers in Quicken Loans Arena. And they didn’t just scrape past either, they took control and crushed the Cavs 113-94.
With Chris Paul playing just under 25 minutes, it was Blake Griffin that led the charge. He anchored the team’s effort to pull away late in the second quarter and in the third. And while his defensive intensity was clear, with a dive past Kevin Love for a loose ball as one such highlight of his mindset, it was the way he orchestrated the team offensively that the Cavs couldn’t keep up with.
Griffin finished the game with 13 points on uncharacteristic 4-of-14 shooting, which certainly all that amazing. However, he dished out an array of brilliant passes, tying his career-high with 11 assists after recording eight in the first half alone and playing only three quarters.
For the record, Blake by himself in his 30 minutes only came up one assist shy of the Cavs’ team total of 12.
As the focal point of the offense, he received plenty of touches in the post when the Clippers looked to him to anchor the team, either creating scoring opportunities as others moved off the ball or he bruised his way in to score or get fouled.
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The scoring was off for Griffin on Thursday night and he only went 5-of-8 from the charity stripe, despite raising his free throw percentage to a career-high 76.6 this season. That being said, while he couldn’t get the ball to go through the hoop that much, he still commanded a great deal of attention from the Cavs’ defense.
They were pressuring him all night and bringing extra defenders to help, and this is where Griffin becomes so much deadlier than almost any other big when the gravity of his post play draws in defenders: he can facilitate at an exceptional level to others.
When others help, the threat of Griffin creates space for others to spot-up more freely at the perimeter or cut inside. Against the Cavs, we saw countless examples of how this frees up everything for the Clippers, and how the offense can operate in a different (yet still elite) way when Griffin is running the show rather than Paul.
Take this alley-oop from the post to DeAndre Jordan, for example. It’s probably Griffin’s best assist of the night, drawing a double team almost instantly once he received the ball on the low block as Channing Frye shifted over the lane to help the mismatched J.R. Smith. This freed up Jordan, and Griffin sent the ball up in an instant for a ferociously smooth and-one, alley-oop dunk.
Obviously, Griffin’s actual passing ability is needed to make that pass out the double team, but seeking out mismatches and the attention he draws initially frees up the space for Jordan to finish so easily.
Another assist shows Luc Mbah a Moute (who had a great game with terrific defense, six points, three rebounds and five steals) making a strong cut, and Griffin delivers a perfectly timed pass between the defense.
The threat of Griffin attacking off the dribble or shooting from mid-range keeps Tristan Thompson all over him outside, while a high pick-and-pop action between J.J. Redick and Austin Rivers brings LeBron James further up the court to help on Redick. This all frees up a little more space in the paint for Luc to cut. Then, to finish the play, Griffin places the ball just in front of LeBron where only Luc can reach it for a layup.
As a final example, this dime to Paul for a corner three just looked way too easy, only making the Clippers’ lead more daunting to Cleveland as they went up 74-56 after the bucket.
With a mismatch on Smith again, Griffin had an easy time backing his way down the lane. After creating enough concern with better positioning and quickly moving toward the basket, Thompson came over to help, leaving Paul with a ton of space in the corner. Knowing exactly where Paul was after waiting for the right moment, Griffin swung the ball around Thompson for an easy corner three-pointer.
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We often see Griffin terrorize opponents in transition when he gets out and runs alongside Jordan for lobs, or runs simple high dribble hand-offs with Redick or Paul that we saw work well against the Cavs. But it was the post passing more than anything else on Thursday that particularly stood out.
When Griffin can draw such attention to pass and find his way to the free throw line against top teams like the Cavs, his versatile offensive threat becomes so clear.
The LA Clippers embracing what a playmaking force he can be in the post is the exact type of physical, interior threat that could be used to their advantage in a potential playoff series against the Golden State Warriors. Abusing their lack of size and creating foul trouble against the likes of Draymond Green would be vital to a potential upset.
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Thursday’s game against the Cavs, even though their roster makeup is very different to that of the Warriors, was an ideal example of how Griffin can work against the best competition.