With Chris Paul out of the picture, is Blake Griffin capable of being the LA Clippers’ leader both on and off the floor?
Since making his debut for the Clippers back in 2010, Blake Griffin has never had to be the number one guy for the Clippers. LA’s acquisition of Chris Paul immediately after Griffin’s rookie season allowed the power forward to play second fiddle behind Paul, never having to carry the team by himself (except when Paul was injured). The Clippers have also always had quality veteran players on the roster that provided the team with much-needed leadership off the court and in the locker room, including Paul. But with most of the team’s veterans with other teams this season, the Clippers have been left with a team where one of their rookies is their second oldest player (Milos Teodosic at 30-years-old). With a new roster assembled, the Clippers will have to turn to their franchise player to lead the team in both facets, but the question remains, is Griffin ready?
On the Court:
When Blake is healthy and focused, there is no question that he is one of the best power forwards in the league. Griffin has always had assist numbers in the top percentile for big men as the power forward is more than capable of having the offense run through him. Griffin’s career assist percentage of 21 percent (meaning Griffin has assisted on 21 percent of the Clippers’ baskets when he’s in the game) ranks him at 161st place out of all the players who have played in the NBA since the stat era began. While 161st doesn’t sound the greatest on paper, it puts Griffin above Chris Webber, who was known for his passing as a big man, and otherHall of Fame caliber forwards such as Kevin Garnett, Karl Malone, and Charles Barkley. Last season, Griffin played 554 minutes without Paul on the floor. Without Paul, Griffin averaged 22.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per 36 minutes compared to 22.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists when the two were both on the floor in 1,523 minutes over the season.
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Griffin has averaged around five assists per game in the past three seasons even with sharing the floor with Paul, so is it far fetched to suggest that he may hit that 6.4 assist mark that his per 36 numbers suggest he should? If Doc Rivers runs his offense through Griffin, the power forward should flourish with the new additions to LA’s starting line up. Patrick Beverley, who should at least see starters minutes if he doesn’t actually start games, is a capable three point shooter who Griffin can work with in pick-and-rolls. Austin Rivers showed that he could be relied on to hit jump shots last season and has also improved with his finishing around the basket, making him a prime target for kick outs or dishes on cuts from Griffin. Gallinari is also a reliable three-point-shooter, knocking down 39 percent of his shots from behind the arc last season in Denver. On paper, Griffin looks ready to lead the Clippers offense but his new leadership role on the floor may be affected by his weaknesses.
If the Clippers want to run their offense through Griffin, the team is going to need him to stay on the floor. This means Griffin, who has been plagued by injury troubles the past few season, will need to take extra care of his body through out the season and try to limit putting himself in situations where he could easily injure himself. The power forward hasn’t played in more than 70 games in a season since the 2013-2014 season in which he appeared in 80 games and ended up finishing third place in MVP voting.
Another issue that may affect Griffin’s leadership on the court is his tendency to flounder in the fourth quarters of games. Last season, Griffin scored his lowest amount of points per quarter in the fourth quarter, only scoring four points on average (compared to 6.8 for the first quarter, 4.9 for the second, and 6.5 for the third). In addition, Blake only attempted an average of 2.8 shots in the fourth quarter. For comparison, Anthony Davis attempted 4.7 fourth quarter shots per game last season in NOLA and Paul Millsap attempted 3.6 in Atlanta. While you can argue that those stats don’t matter very much, it raises the question of how reliable Griffin can be in the fourth quarter and if the power forward can be the type of player that you want with the ball in his hands for the last possession of the game.
Off the Court:
Griffin has been no stranger to controversy over his NBA career off the court but has managed to stay out of any serious trouble other than the incident with the team’s equipment manager that all Clippers’ fans remember. But does Griffin have the mentality to become the leader of the Clippers’ with Chris Paul gone and be the guy who keeps the rest of the team in check? The Clippers’ roster for this upcoming season is youth-heavy, with Wes Johnson and Lou Williams being the only veterans over 30-years-old on the team. Neither of those players is exactly team leaders, so LA will look to the next few oldest players to become the anchors of their team off of the court.
The duo of Griffin and Jordan should be mature enough to lead the team and create the competitive fire that Chris Paul brought to the locker room, but if they need an extra spark, Patrick Beverley will be able to bring a ferocity to the team in his first season in LA. The Clippers’ will need Griffin, who has always appeared to be a laid-back type of player who enjoys doing stand up comedy in his free time, to harden up and become the leader that the team will need if they expect to contend for a playoff spot in the much-improved juggernaut that is the NBA’s Western Conference.