Oklahoma City Thunder: Get Ready for Blake Griffin

As the Oklahoma City Thunder fell to a league's worst 1-14, there is little for fans to give thanks for.  The excitement of having a new NBA franchise is over, and now Thunder-ites are left with the reality of a team in torment. 

P.J. Carlesimo is out and Scott Brooks will finish out the teams remaining games.  At this pace, the Thunder will win somewhere between five and six games this year.  So, where do the Thunder go from here?

The NBA Draft.

With the first pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder pick the sophomore from Oklahoma, Blake Griffin.

Every basketball fan in Oklahoma, and most across the nation are familiar with Griffin.  For those who are not, the 6'10" 251 pound Griffin routinely draws comparisons to Carlos Boozer and occasionally Amare Stoudemire.  Boozer was a second round pick; the difference between the two is raw athletic ability. 

Griffin, an Oklahoma City native, won the 2007 McDonald's All-American game slam dunk contest, a rare feat for a player his size.  Griffin is a tireless rebounder, who defends, and scores from all over the court.  This season he has even knocked down his first two college threes on two attempts, which shows he is still developing his game. 

Draft experts have Griffin's ceiling as being a Carlos Boozer-type, while they have his floor at the level of a David Lee.  I beg to differ.  While Lee was also a former slam dunk champ, he did it with cartwheels and theatrics.  Griffin is an explosive powerful dunker, who will wreak havoc in the NBA. Boozer should be the floor for this Sooner boomer.

While Michael Beasley was the freshman who got all of the attention in the Big 12, Griffin was not that far off from the former Kansas State Wildcat. 

Michael Beasley 31.5 MPG  26.2 PPG  .532 FG%  12.4 RPG   3.97 ORPG 
Blake Griffin       28.4 MPG  14.7 PPG  .568 FG%   9.1 RPG    3.27 ORPG

After four games this season, Griffin is off to a ridiculous start, averaging 26.0 points and 19.8 rebounds per game with a 74.5 field goal percentage.

Blake Griffin would be starting for the Thunder right now, but in the time being, have fun with Johan Petro and Robert Swift.