L.A. Clippers: Stop Overhyping Blake Griffin, No. 1 Pick Still Needs Work

Blake Griffin raised his hand as he dashed his way into the paint, called for an alley-oop and slamed it down with authority for his first professional basket over LaMarcus Aldridge.

The Staples Center on Wednesday night erupted with simultaneous cheers and a sigh of relief as Los Angeles Clippers No. 1 draft pick looked explosive and healthy from start to finish in his 38-minute debut, giving a much-needed breath of hope for this franchise.

While fans were quick to anoint him as the franchise savior, I on the other hand thought Wednesday revealed Griffin's lack of versatility and how one dimensional NBA coaches can make him rather than how dominating he was.

He can be a star, but Griffin needs to work on his game a lot more before he can be put into that conversation. 

Griffin finished with an impressive box score of 20 points, 14 rebounds—including nine offensive—and four assists on 8-of-12 shooting, making people say, "What after effects on a kneecap injury?"

On a closer look, however, seven of Griffin's eight scores were from dunks, layups and tip ins from offensive rebounds.

His other score came from a jump shot, but so were three of his four misses. 

This is not college, where no two power forwards could contain Griffin outside the paint. NBA coaches will force him to post up higher outside the paint and towards the baseline to minimize his explosiveness.

Coaches may play zone against Griffin, especially if Eric Gordon and Rasual Butler are on the bench, because of his inconsistent stroke.

Far as rebounds go, no NBA coach or player may have the answer to that. Griffin can easily average over 10 rebounds a game this season because of his ability to jump like a slam-dunk champion with his 6'10", 250-pound frame. 

But nine offensive rebounds again? I don't think you can count on five in a game again because coaches will put an emphasis on boxing out No. 32.

I'm not saying Griffin wasn't impressive by any means. 20 points and 14 rebounds against premier post-players Aldridge and Marcus Camby deserves massive credit.

Fans and analysts, however, have to realize Griffin is miles away from being a consistently dominating force. His stroke and footwork need to improve once coaches scheme against him. 

Wednesday was a positive step, but a baby step.

We should wait to see how the teams game plan against Griffin, but more importantly how Griffin adjusts to the teams' game plans.