blake griffin – Page 2 – NBA Blog

Blake Griffin doing big things for Pistons this season

The Pistons are an impressive 4-1 to start this new season. That’s too small a sample size to go too overboard with expectation, but it’s still an excellent sign that the team can do some decent things in 2018-19. Leading the team in scoring, in a big way, is power forward Blake Griffin, who is putting up 28.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, on 50.5% shooting. Griffin has also been amazing from three-point range this season, taking 5.4 three-point attempts per game so far and hitting 55.6% of them. Here’s the Detroit Free Press with more:

He put up a clunker in Saturday’s 109-89 loss to the Boston Celtics. But other than that, he has played as well as any player in the league. Griffin scored 50 last Tuesday in an overtime win against the Philadelphia Sixers and followed it up two nights later with 26 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Quite simply, Griffin has been a superstar in the first two weeks of the season, something this team hasn’t had in at least a decade and maybe longer.

That brings me back to one of the most basic truths in sports: Fans love superstars. They buy their jerseys. They try to get them on their fantasy teams. They watch them when they’re on the floor. When Griffin is on the floor, people watch.

Defining a superstar is tricky. For some people, it’s like determining whether or not someone is a Hall of Famer. The simple answer is — if you have to ask, then they’re not a Hall of Famer. Is the same true of NBA superstars? If you have to ask, then they’re not a superstar. By my book, Griffin was a superstar, lost his superstar status due to injury and playoff losses, and is now angling to achieve that status again. If he’s able to do that, if he’s able to stay healthy and be a dominant force on a winning team, then he’ll be a magnet for the fans.

— Full Article

Blake Griffin traded to Pistons

A post shared by Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin32) on Oct 25, 2017 at 10:32am PDT

The Clippers are shaking up the entire foundation and future of their franchise, by reportedly agreeing to trade Blake Griffin to the Pistons. Here’s Michigan Live reporting:

They acquired All-Star forward Blake Griffins from the Los Angeles Clippers for a package of players and draft picks, according to various reports.

The Pistons sent foward Tobias Harris, guarfd Avery Bradley, center Bob Marjanovic and a first- and second-round draft pick to the Clippers, ESPN reports. The Clippers also sent Brice Johnson and Willie Reed to Detroit.

According to ESPN, protections on Detroit’s 2018 first-round pick include 1-4 in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and unprotected in 2021.

Full article

Blake Griffin to re-sign with Clippers

Chris Paul is gone, but Blake Griffin is sticking around. The Clippers are without their floor general, but their versatile power forward will re-sign with the squad. Here’s the LA Times reporting:

Blake Griffin walked into Staples Center on Friday afternoon, his eyes quickly diverting to a video of the Clippers starting lineup that included him. A few seconds later, the video shifted to a museum in which it walked through different parts of his life during the seven years he wore No. 32 for the Clippers.

As soon as a smile crossed Griffin’s face upon entering the arena, one team executive who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter said the sense was that the power forward would return to the Clippers.

And Griffin will, agreeing to sign a maximum contract with the Clippers for five years and $175.74 million, according to an NBA official…

Griffin technically couldn’t agree to the deal until the NBA’s free-agency period opened at 9:01 PT Friday night, but the Clippers were allowed to talk with the power forward earlier in the day because he had spent the past seven years on the team.

Keeping Blake Griffin the priority for Clippers

Chris Paul was on his way out, so the Clippers managed to get some players for him. None on his level, though. With the CP3/LAC era over, here’s the LA Times with what needs to happen next for the squad:

Blake Griffin now becomes the priority for the Los Angeles Clippers to re-sign in the wake of Chris Paul’s great escape from Los Angeles.

The Clippers have the upper hand in the talks with Griffin because they can offer more money than any other team, a five-year deal worth about $175 million. But the Clippers are hesitant to give Griffin all five years because of his health issues, according to an NBA executive who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Griffin is recovering from surgery on the plantar plate of his right big toe that could sideline him up to November and possibly December.

Still, there are at least four other teams looking to talk with Griffin and he has a visit scheduled with the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, said an NBA executive.

The Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder also are teams that have expressed interest in Griffin.

Blake Griffin injury update

The L.A. Clippers announced that forward Blake Griffin will miss the remainder of the 2017 NBA Playoffs with an injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe suffered during the Clippers’ 111-106 win over the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of their Western Conference First Round Playoff series.

Griffin will be re-evaluated upon the team’s return to Los Angeles and will see foot and ankle specialist Dr. Richard Ferkel.

Griffin averaged 21.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 61 regular season games in 2016-17, and averaged 25.0 points per game in the first two games of the Clippers’ Playoff series vs. the Jazz.

Blake Griffin out for remainder of NBA playoffs

Yet another Blake Griffin injury, at the worst possible time. The Clippers will be without their star power forward for the remainder of the playoffs. Here’s the LA Times reporting:

This season will finish similar to the last, with a sidelined Blake Griffin on the bench in street clothes.

Only this isn’t the same old story for the Clippers.

The most critical offseason in the franchise’s history has come early, courtesy of news that Griffin will miss the remainder of the playoffs because of damage to the plantar plate on his big right toe.

Chris Paul and Doc Rivers promised the Clippers will be ready to take on Utah Jazz in Game 4 of their opening-round playoff series Sunday, but this is something more far-reaching than that.

The Clippers are staring ahead into the unknown.

Blake Griffin putting up monster games lately

The Clippers are hot lately, winning eight of their last ten games. And power forward Blake Griffin has put up some monster games this past week. Here’s the OC Register reporting:

Before DeAndre Jordan disappeared into the night Wednesday following another Clippers victory, he passed Blake Griffin in the hall to the team’s postgame interview room.

“Yo, Beast!” Jordan exclaimed.

“That’s what we call him,” Chris Paul had said moments earlier.

It’s a moniker Griffin has lived up to over his past three games, averaging 33 points on 73 percent shooting while scoring more than 30 points in three consecutive appearances for the first time since February of 2014.

“He’s just been crazy aggressive,” Paul said. “Crazy efficient. … So we are going to keep feeding him.”

Blake Griffin will have knee surgery, out 3-6 weeks

After playing just 35 games last season, Clippers forward Blake Griffin is hurt again.

Griffin will undergo a routine arthroscopic procedure on Tuesday, December 20 to remove loose bodies from his right knee.

Griffin is expected to miss approximately three-to-six weeks and will continue to undergo treatment and evaluation by the Clippers medical staff.

The five-time NBA All-Star has appeared in 26 games and is averaging 21.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists this season

Blake Griffin will not play for 2016 Team USA

Clippers forward Blake Griffin won’t participate in this summer’s USA Basketball Team training camps and exhibition tour. That’s the team that will play in the summer Olympics.

Griffin underwent a bone marrow procedure on his left quad tendon on April 27 and has already begun the rehabilitation process with the expectation that he will be ready for the start of the 2016-17 NBA season.

The five-time NBA All-Star originally injured the quad on December 25, 2015 against the Lakers.

In 35 regular season games this season, Griffin averaged 21.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 33.4 minutes. In four playoff games, he averaged 15.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

Blake Griffin set to return for Clippers

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News reporting on the Clippers and power forward Blake Griffin. It’ll definitely be worth keeping track of how Griffin fits back in with the squad as he makes his long-awaited return:

Blake Griffin will not have played for three months and a week when he takes the floor with his Clippers for a game against the Washington Wizards on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Staples Center.

He had a partially torn left quad tendon. He still does, actually. He had a fractured right hand because he punched team assistant equipment manager Matias Testi on Jan. 23. For that, he served a four-game suspension, and also lost a fifth game’s pay for his punch-related injury.

Griffin, who has apologized for his actions, was asked Saturday what he’s learned about himself through this ordeal.

“Yeah, I learned a lot,” he said before practice. “But those things are for me. You learn a lot about a lot of people and you kind of figure out a lot of things. But those are things, like I said, for me.”