5 Bold Predictions for Los Angeles Clippers Star Blake Griffin in 2014-15 Season

It took until the middle of his fourth professional season, but the basketball world finally came around to the idea that Blake Griffin is more than just an athletic highlight reel—he's a spectacular basketball player.

Griffin enjoyed the best year of his career in 2014, averaging 24 points to go along with nearly 10 rebounds and four assists per game. His brilliance with and without fellow superstar Chris Paul in the lineup earned him a third-place finish in MVP voting last season.

Still just 25 years old, Griffin is primed to take the next step and prove that he will be one of the top-five players in the league for the next decade.

Here are five bold predictions for his upcoming campaign.

Blake Griffin Will Cut His Technical Fouls in Half

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Griffin was tied for the league lead in technical fouls in 2014, racking up 16 techs and getting tossed from one game as well.

He always seems to get mixed up in an altercation, and his demeanor on the court leads to him becoming a target for cheap shots from opponents.

Griffin is yet to retaliate in a violent fashion to any of these incidents, and the NBA even admitted wrongdoing in ejecting him from last Christmas' tussle with the Golden State Warriors.

After crossing the line and serving a one-game suspension for picking up his 16th technical foul, Griffin won't want to walk that tightrope again this season.

Though he will still rub others the wrong way, opposing teams will also realize that going after Griffin does more harm than good.

This was exemplified last season when the Oklahoma City Thunder lost Serge Ibaka in an early-season matchup against the Clippers. Griffin remained on the court and put up a 22-12-7 line in Ibaka's absence, leading L.A. to a satisfying victory.

Blake Griffin Will Be a League-Average Free-Throw Shooter

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One of the biggest knocks on Griffin throughout his career has been his inability to cash in at the charity stripe.

However, he has shown vast improvement in his stroke at the line, improving from 52.1 percent in 2012 to 66 percent in 2013 and all the way up to 71.5 percent last season.

And over his final 16 games of the 2013-14 season, Griffin lifted that number all the way up to 80.5 percent on eight attempts per game.

The NBA's average free-throw percentage has fluctuated between 75.3 and 76.2 percent over the past five seasons. Griffin will be at least in that range, if not slightly above it.

There goes another blemish in Griffin's refined game.

Blake Griffin Will Lead All Power Forwards in Scoring

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There are several challengers for this throne, but Griffin will rule them all.

The first name that comes to mind is Kevin Love, who was fourth in the league in scoring last season at 26.1 points per game.

Love, as we all know, is now paired up with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving—two prolific scorers in their own right. While his numbers won't drop off as steeply as Chris Bosh's did with the Miami Heat, he will no longer get as many looks as he's accustomed to playing alongside two ball-dominant stars.

LaMarcus Aldridge is a legitimate threat as well, but Griffin already edged him in scoring last year. 

Anthony Davis is rapidly improving and is on pace for a boost in production.

But so is Griffin.

With his ever-blossoming post play and steadier jump shot—not to mention the bump in free-throw shooting we covered in the last slide—Griffin will top 25 points per game for the first time in his career and lead all 4s in scoring.

Blake Griffin Will Average 25-10-5 for the Season

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That's right. Griffin will become just the seventh player ever—and only the fourth since 1966—to average 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game for an entire season.

The other names on the list? How about Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley.

Seeing Griffin's name in the exclusive company of some of the NBA's best ever may seem shocking, but he approached those numbers last season, putting up a 24-10-4 line. 

We talked about the scoring increase in the last slide, but Doc Rivers and the Clippers didn't unleash Griffin as a passer until the end of last season. That's when Rivers and Chris Paul gave the skilled big man the leeway to grab a rebound, push the ball down the court and make something happen on offense himself.

The result was Griffin averaging five assists per contest over the final quarter of last season.

With a full offseason to further plan around Griffin's all-around offensive arsenal, the Clippers will have a scheme in place to take advantage of his multiple threats and push his numbers above that hallowed plateau.

Blake Griffin Will Lead the LA Clippers to the No. 1 Seed in the West

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The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have finished first and second in the conference in each of the past three seasons.

Even though both Western Conference powerhouses bring the cores of their respective rosters back, Griffin and the Clippers are about to change the landscape.

Los Angeles has set the franchise mark for victories in a season in back-to-back campaigns, and it is set up to break the barrier again after a productive offseason that saw it finally acquire a competent backup big man to aid Griffin in the frontcourt and—more importantly—replace the worst owner in the history of professional sports.

The Clippers have both the star power and depth to challenge for the top spot.

With Griffin continuing his rise to the league's uppermost echelon and Chris Paul topping 70 games played for the first time as a member of the Clippers, L.A. will crack 60 wins and earn home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference Playoffs.