Blake Griffin: 7 Reasons Why He Will Soon Be the Best Power Forward in the NBA
When the Clippers first drafted Blake Griffin, everyone had high expectations for the rookie big man. However, once Griffin hurt his knee in preseason and was forced to miss all of last season, he was forced into the background. No one had seen this kid play for real.
Then it happened....
The 2010-2011 season began and Blake Griffin took off. What began as a rookie putting up a few highlight dunks and somewhat impressive numbers became a monster power forward who puts up regular double doubles and has turned Clippers games into his own dunk-fest.
Griffin has been by far and away the best rookie (sorry John Wall), and one of the best power forwards in the league. But does he have a chance to become THE best power forward in the game? I'll give you seven reasons as to why he does....and eventually will.
Best Power Forward Title Left Wide Open
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There's no way around it, the NBA is now a guard's game. You look around, and you see almost every team filled with great guards, in particular Utah, New Orleans, Chicago, Boston and Washington, among others. The guards have been coming in droves to the NBA, while the big man continues to decrease.
However, the one common trend that still holds some validity in regards to the big man is that the difference between the good and the great teams in the league is a big man. Case in point, the Oklahoma City Thunder currently have one of the youngest and brightest floor generals in the league in Russell Westbrook but currently lack the big man necessary to make themselves legitimate title contenders. The Lakers, Heat and Magic all are current title contenders and neither of them have what you would call a transcendent point guard. However, they all do have that significant presence in the respective forms of Pau Gasol, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard.
However, there is no real clear cut best power forward in the league. Chris Bosh is shadowed in the presence of Dwyane Wade and Lebron James. Pau Gasol will never be the best player on his team with future hall-of-famer Kobe Bryant by his side. Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett are way past their primes. Dirk Nowitzki can't seem to convince people that he deserves to hold that position when his team repeatedly gets knocked out early in the playoffs year after year. Amar'e Stoudemire has just begun to emerge as the top power forward but there are still some holes in his game, which seem unable to be fixed this late in his career.
So that leaves the spot wide open for the poster child Blake Griffin.
Griffin is the entire package and will continue to excel and improve his game to soon become the best at his position. He is well on his way to follow in the footsteps of the All-Star big men mentioned above and should continue to be the franchise player around whom the Clippers can build. The Clippers should know that the key to a title is through a dominant big man, as history has shown (with the one exception of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty in the 90s).
Athletic Freak
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As Kenny Smith recently stated when talking about Griffin, "You don't usually find guys who come into the league and are immediately considered one of the top athletes, but make no mistake about it, this guy is a top three athlete in the league already. Without a doubt, no question."
Those are some pretty bold words from a guy who's seen his fair share of athletes come and go from this league (Gerald Green, anyone?). Griffin's athleticism is something seen out of a movie. The way he leaps, jumps and finishes is matched by very few in the league. Really the only guys I can compare him to that match his athleticism are probably Lebron James, Dwight Howard and Amar'e Stoudemire.
Griffin is quite lucky to have such athletic ability this early in his career as he doesn't have a complete post game or a reliable jump shot, but that will come with experience. For now, he's simply an athletic freak. No other way to put it.
Size Matters
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At 6'10'' and 251 pounds, you're not moving that.
Blake Griffin has possibly the perfect size for his position, and as opposed to his draft class peers, doesn't need to fill into this body. That is why he has been able to dominate right off the bat in his rookie season.
Griffin can match up with any power forward in the league in terms of size. You name it: Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, Amar'e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer. Actually he even has somewhat of an advantage over the top power forwards in the game. He's bulkier that Garnett, Bosh and Pau, he's a bit taller than Carlos Boozer and maybe more explosive than Amar'e Stoudemire (since he's had surgery).
That's right folks, there's no stopping Griffin. When your blessed with that size and are able to carve out a body like Griffin has, you tend to become unstoppable, and Griffin is on that road.
Glass Cleaning Machine
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As with every power forward in the NBA, a successful ingredient in order to be considered one of the best in the league at your position is to do your job. The power forward is held responsible for manning the paint and rebounding ferociously.
Blake Griffin does both, but does the latter especially well.
Griffin, as shown by his current numbers, is an incredible rebounder. He's got a knack for getting the ball off the rim and will throw his body around in any which way to get it. As of right now, in the midst of his rookie season, Griffin is averaging an astonishing 12.7 rebounds a game, good enough for 4th in the entire league. Actually he's just 0.7 rebounds off of second place Dwight Howard's 13.4 rebounds per game.
Keep in mind, this is only his rookie season.
He's been rebounding better than most of the top tier power forwards in the game, including Pau Gasol, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh and Amar'e Stoudemire. Not to mention also Zach Randolph, Lamarcus Aldrige, David Lee, Tim Duncan and Josh Smith. That's a lot of quality rebounding power forwards.
Oh, and he's second in the league at the moment in double-doubles with 30.
Simply put, he's a rebounding and a double-double machine.
Minutes Aren't Going Anywhere
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When you're the No. 1 draft pick, I think that's enough to warrant you some serious minutes.
Unfortunately, that doesn't always pan out with every player and big men are no exception. Case in point, Kwame Brown and Michael Olawakandi who were both former No. 1 overall draft picks but weren't given starters minutes right off the bat.
Griffin may have been in the same boat, had he not been injured all last year and allow the Clippers time to ship out Zach Randolph and Marcus Camby in order to make room for him. A year later, the power forward spot was completely vacant for Griffin to come take it and join Chris Kaman in the frontcourt, and take it he did.
Sometimes, it's not about who's more talented than the other, it's just about opportunity. Griffin knew he would get minutes sooner or later but he had a chance to get starters minutes right off the bat and he completely seized the opportunity and never gave it back, and probably never will.
Yup, with the way he's performed, Griffin will be locked in as the starting power forward for the Clippers for as long as he wears their jersey. Nice Job, Blake.
Wants to Get Better
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Blake Griffin isn't your typical "fame-wanting, lime-light hogging, egotistical star athlete" that we see so common in today's day and age.
What I mean by that is, he doesn't seem to be fazed by the rumors surrounding his team or of that of other players. For example, Carmelo Anthony put his team's future on hold and in jeopardy with his desire to play for other franchises. While we never know what the future holds, Blake doesn't seem to be nearly as concerned about his next pay day or fantasies of playing for his dream franchise. He knows that he's got a responsibility with the Clippers and as long as he continues to wear a Clippers jersey, so he won't be a distraction for them.
Griffin wants to win, you can see it in the way he carries himself. He's always reserved, shy and laid-back and simple in what he wants, and that's to win. As long as the Clippers try to put a winning team around Griffin, they should be able to keep him long-term. He won't be a distraction like Mr. Anthony.
Nowhere to Go But Up for Both Blake and Clippers
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The Clippers have been a terrible franchise ever since their existence. That's a known fact. But with all bad, there is bound to be some good. And that good comes to the Clippers in the name of Blake Griffin.
He's already put the team on the map and single-handedly become a reason to watch Clipper games, even with a dominating neighbor at its side in the Los Angeles Lakers. Griffin has done a solid job of helping the Clippers improve, but it hasn't all been him. As we all know, basketball is a five on five game, not one on one, and the Clippers have some solid young players to work with.
Griffin aside, the Clippers also have an electric scorer in Eric Gordon, who's got All-Star potential. DeAndre Jordan has shown he's deserving of holding down the frontcourt with Griffin in the starting lineup with his defensive abilities and rebounding. The Clippers rookies Al-Farouq Aminu and Eric Bledsoe have also shown promise and are good solid pieces to an already solid core.
Once the Clippers are able to rid themselves of Baron Davis and Chris Kaman and cash them in for younger talent and/or future assets, the Clippers should be in a good position to start winning long-term.
As for Griffin, let me remind you again that this is only his rookie campaign.
That means his scoring will get better and his rebounding will improve, along with his assist totals and blocked shots. He will develop a dominant post-up game, and add a reliable 15-foot jumper. He'll become the complete package and inevitably, the best power forward in the game.
Yup, the Clippers got a good one.
