The Importance of Blake Griffin’s 3 Point Shot
We knew coming into the year that Blake Griffin had been working hard to add a three-point shot to his repertoire. In the preseason, he put his newfound skill on display, averaging 33 percent from deep. What really caught our eye though, was how he looked extremely confident shooting it from behind the arc.
I know I was ecstatic to see him use it in the regular season. Heck, I think we all were.
As most of us know, the Clippers started the season hot—like really hot. Blake’s shot though, didn’t. Griffin was still attempting the 3 point shot, it just wasn’t falling. When it stopped falling, he stopped shooting it.
Fast-forward to now, Blake is just a handful of games back from surgery on his knee, and he is ballin’ out. Dude is jumping over people—literally. More importantly though, his three ball is falling and, no surprise here, the Clippers are winning.
RELATED STORY: Blake Griffin Named Western Conference Player of the Week
Just how important is Blake’s three point shot you ask? It’s pretty darn scary how important it is.
Spacing
When Blake is hitting his shots, it helps open his game up. If the defender sags off, he can make them pay. Like this.
When the defender does the right thing and comes out to guard Blake, he is able to bully them down low, or blow right by them. That’s part of why Blake is so good. I mean look, he is unguardable.
It helps more than just Blake though. It helps the whole team. If Griffin is able to keep the defense honest, it creates more room for everybody. More room means Chris Paul is going to be able find the soft spots and do his thing. DeAndre Jordan will have a ton more room to roll to the basket and get open and Luc Mbah a Moute will have more room to cut in and out as well. I could go down the list of players and name how it will help each of them, but I think you get the point; BG spacing the floor with his shot is a great thing.
Confidence
Arguably, one of the most important things you can have in the NBA is confidence. Some players have too much confidence—I’m looking at you Swaggy P.
A confident Blake is a downright scary Blake. We witnessed a confident Blake Griffin two years ago during the playoffs, and we are seeing it now, too. A confident Blake is a triple double waiting to happen.
Now, take a confident Griffin and add three-point shot he is also confident with—Yikes! Sounds like something Draymond Green has nightmares about.
Blake’s confidence carries over to his teammates as well. You can see it when the ball zips around arc from player to player, they are playing together and confidently.
The Clippers are 7-2 this season when Griffin makes a three. In those same games, they have outscored their opponents by 79(!) points. So, LA not only plays better when Blake has his shot working, they are almost unstoppable.
RELATED STORY: We Missed You: An Open Letter to Blake Griffin
As the season winds down, the Clippers will face more scrutiny than most. It’s no secret the struggles and misfortune they have had in the playoffs. This year, Blake and company will look to rewrite the script and prove that they are elite. The world is about to find out how important Blake Griffins three-point shot is.
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