The LA Clippers needed Blake Griffin to be aggressive and bounce back, and he did just that with 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The LA Clippers needed far more from Blake Griffin than the season-worst 5-of-20 shooting and season-high seven turnovers he provided in the 115-98 loss to the Golden State Warriors. He was rattled, indecisive, and wasn’t playing his game. Our own Andrew Miller wrote about how the Clippers would immediately need more from Griffin and for him to return to his usual self, and that’s exactly what happened on Monday night.
The Clippers’ latest contest went down to the wire, but they managed to hit their free throws, come up with a few big plays courtesy of Chris Paul, and hang on for a 121-120 win against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Blake was back. After missing Saturday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans to rest with left knee soreness, he was back in action and looking like his All-NBA self. There were a couple of unwise shots, and a turning fadeaway late in the fourth quarter wasn’t exactly the shot the Clippers needed in that close situation, but he was far more assertive than he was against the Warriors right off the bat. He looked for close shots inside again, aiming to batter his way back in the post and attack with his strengths.
Even though not having to face the machine of raw, defensive versatility that is Draymond Green helped, Griffin had a strong outing as he played 40 minutes and tallied 26 points, 12 rebounds (four offensive), six assists, and a strong block on Damian Lillard early on, also shooting a solid 12-of-25 for the game.
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Blake Griffin was the type of Blake Griffin the Clippers need, and sorely missed as they got trampled early on last Wednesday by the Warriors. More so than just the 26, 12 and six Griffin dropped against the Blazers, the kind of well-rounded stat line we’re used to him delivering, it’s the manner in which he scored that’s just as exciting.
The Blazers have struggled all year when trying to stop Griffin inside, and he can have his way when their small guards like Lillard or C.J. McCollum switch onto him. Their top defensive player, Al-Farouq Aminu, is going to struggle with Griffin’s size and strength as well, and as good as Mason Plumlee was on Monday with some hustle and his five blocks, he still isn’t known for defense and struggles away from the basket against quicker opponents.
With this smooth dream shake finish from Griffin, Maurice Harkless hopelessly bit on the fake and Plumlee was left watching under the basket, focusing on holding DeAndre Jordan away.
This play looked so natural for Griffin. It shows how incredibly far he’s come since entering the NBA as he’s worked his tail off to become a highly skilled offensive player, also showing how much more comfortable he was again after leaving the Warriors’ nightmare of last week behind him.
The upcoming stretch should be more favorable for the Clippers, too. Their next four opponents are the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets, giving the Clippers a very real opportunity to go into their December 22nd matchup against the San Antonio Spurs on a six-game win streak.
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And if Blake Griffin keeps playing as he did against the Blazers and Chris Paul stays in full Point God mode, their two best players may be able to lead the LA Clippers back toward play more reminiscent of their dominant form from the start of the season.