Blake Griffin's Fatal Flaw: Lack of Elite Height and Wingspan

Blake Griffin became the new poster boy of the NBA when he literally soared onto the scene with impressive dunks and awe-inducing plays. Although Griffin's jumping ability, coordination and speed have made him a promising young player, those same physical characteristics will also prevent him from becoming a first option on a championship team.

The physical gifts I believe are essential to any big man in the NBA who has aspirations to be a No. 1 option on a championship team are elite height and wingspan.

Blake Griffin stands at 6'10'' with shoes and has a wingspan of 6'11.25''. This might seem like normal measurements to the average person, but in comparison to other star big men in the NBA, his measurements are inferior. This will cause his post-up game to suffer.

For comparison purposes only, these are the measurements of some star big men that were similar physically to Blake Griffin:

Dwight Howard:

Height: 6'10'' with shoes
Wingspan: 7'4.5''

Amar'e Stoudemire:

Height: 6'10'' with shoes
Wingspan: 7'1.75''

Elton Brand:

Height: 6'9'' with shoes
Wingspan: 7'5.5''

Chris Bosh:

Height: 6'11'' with shoes
Wingspan: 7'3.5''

Alonzo Mourning:

Height: 6'10'' with shoes
Wingspan: 7'6.5''

Unfortunately, I was not able to find the wingspan measurements for the all-time greats such as Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett or Dirk Nowitzki since wingspan measurements have only recently begun at the NBA pre-draft camps. Looking at all three, you can clearly tell that all of them are taller and longer than Blake Griffin. 

There is an old saying in basketball that states, "you don't get rebounds with your head," which means that your wingspan matters more than your height. The same argument can be made for scoring in the low-post area.

In the low-post area, you need at least one of two things: elite height or elite length. The reason for this is that the elite post scorers like to get you to a spot on the floor where they are comfortable and shoot a short hook or fall-away jumpshot. For this, you need to be able to rise over your defender with your elite height or elite length.

Since Blake has average height for a power forward and average length for a big man, he will have to rely mostly on up-and-under moves and spinning trick shots in the post.  

Now, some will argue he doesn't need a post-up game. If he develops a jumpshot, he will be unstoppable, they say. While there's some truth to that, history has shown us that first-option big men who did not possess a post-up game have never won a championship.  

In fact, Dirk Nowitzki didn't win a championship until Mavericks' ex-coach Avery Johnson made him develop a post-up game. The reason a post-up game is so important to winning on an elite level is because it balances the floor on offense and allows for a pressure-release during intense possessions.

It balances the floor by allowing the guards and forwards more space to operate. If the big is playing on the perimeter along with the guards and forwards, then that area of the floor will become much more crowded. This will prevent the offensive team from spreading the defense and finding open shots. Hypothetically, the guards can play down-low in the post area, but that is very rarely seen.   

A post-up game releases pressure from the offense because the hardest place to double-team a player is when he is in the post. If the player is physically gifted with elite height or length and can pass out of double-teams, he will make the defense pay every time by hitting either a cutter or wide-open shooter on the perimeter.

Unless someone can command the double-team by making the defensive team pay in the low-post every time he is single covered, the offensive team will have a hard time scoring in the playoffs where teams have an opportunity to defensively game-plan. 

Going through the history of the NBA, I could not find a championship team with a first-option big man who did not post up. Blake will undoubtedly put up numbers competitive with the all-time greats, but he will never be in the same tier as them because he is incapable of having a post-up game.

Recently, more and more teams are catching on to this and having tall or long defenders guard Blake Griffin, which deters him from attempting to post them up. Look for this to happen more and more in the playoffs.

Blake Griffin will most likely develop a jumpshot as his career progresses because there is no major flaw on his release. However, his physical limitations will prevent him from ever being a first option on a championship team.