In pulling together Blake Griffin links for you from the past week or so I am simply in awe of all the great stuff being written about him by just about every talented basketball writer on the internet.
- The Clippers are improving and it seems like everyone is taking notice thanks to #32. Zach Lowe chalks it up to a number of small improvements with more at SI’s The Point Forward. Here’s what he had to say about Blake:
You know about Blake Griffin, who is on pace to have one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time and annihilated the Pacers on Monday with 47 points on 19-of-24 shooting and 14 rebounds. Griffin scored on offensive rebounds, with Tim Duncan-style angled bank shots and, most important, on dynamic finishes off pick-and-rolls with Eric Gordon. Griffin struggles on longer jumpers — especially from straight on — and hasn’t learned to finish with his left hand yet, and he’s still a legitimate All-Star whom teams cannot stop for a full game.
- Going to see Blake Griffin
playdominate in person? Make sure you download this new iPhone app, Precorder, (h/t to Truehoop) which might need to be renamed the “Quake-corder” as it constantly records the 2-3 seconds before you hit the record button. You know perfect for any time the Clippers get a fastbreak and you want to catch the highlight of the night. - The always engaging John Krolik of Cavs the Blog, using his talents to write for ESPN Los Angeles, about a player that is arguably more talented than the entire current Cavs team combined. It’s a wonderful breakdown comparing Griffin to the similar sized physical-freak named LeBron James, as only a Cavs fan living in LA could put together so well. Read the whole piece.
The best news of all, of course, is that Griffin appears to have only scratched the surface of his potential. He’s the most exciting rookie to come into the league sinceLeBron James, only he’s far more productive than James was during his first year in the NBA.
- Royce Young of Dailythunder.com, grew up in Oklahoma with the Griffin brothers and has this great story in his most recent piece for CBS Sports NBA Facts and Rumors. Make sure to read the whole thing.
After that, it’s just Blake’s background. I actually had the good fortune of knowing the Griffin brothers growing up, having played little league baseball with Taylor and also going to church events with both of them. (It’s funny for me because I actually remember Blake being this little annoying kid that wouldn’t get out of our dugout. Blake so badly wanted to play on our team, but he was too small. Imagine that.)
- Bill Simmons joins ESPN LA radio with Mason and Ireland to discuss Blake and his free agent future. It’s 3 years away and already we need to talk about where he might sign?
- In regards to Blake’s free agency in 2014, Clippers GM Neil Olshey had this to say:
I can guarantee you he will only ever be a Clipper,” general manager Neil Olshey said of his prized rookie. “If [Oklahoma City Thundergeneral manager] Sam Presti arrived on Kevin Durant‘s doorstep at midnight on July 1st with an extension, understand that Blake Griffin lives two blocks away from me in Manhattan Beach so it’s going to be a much shorter commute for me.
- John Hollinger, in an ESPN Insider article, breaks down just how good Blake’s rookie year statistically. A highlight:
In the past four decades or so, however, players have routinely left school early and taken more lumps as NBA rookies. In that light, Griffin’s rookie season seems even better. Only two rookies in the past 40 years have exceeded Griffin’s current 23.26 PER, and one of them was a 24-year-old David Robinson. The other was a fairly decent player by the name of Michael Jordan.
Everybody else takes a back seat to Griffin. EVERYBODY. Shaq, Duncan, Magic, Bird — no dice, fellas. The comparison of Griffin to other dominant big men of recent vintage is particularly noteworthy. Once we adjust for pace and minutes, as I’ve done in the chart, his rookie season seems completely in place next to those of Robinson, Duncan, Shaq, and Olajuwon. And in one respect (his passing ability) he’s already far beyond them and nearly into Larry Bird/Chris Webber territory.
- With a similar look back, Blake inspires the guys over at The Score to look at the the top 10 rookie seasons of all time.
- Looking back a bit to the beginning of the season, maybe we all should have seen this play from Blake coming. Lee Jenkins detailed back in October about what Blake did this past offseason coming of his knee surgery:
When he was not allowed to walk, Blake Griffin would sit in a folding chair five feet in front of the basket and shoot floaters from his backside. When he was allowed to walk but not run, he would pace the perimeter of the court and dribble tennis balls with both hands. By the time he was finally cleared to run and jump, the season was over and all of his teammates were gone, off on vacations he did not believe he had earned. So he stayed behind, and whenever Clippers officials heard sneakers squeaking on the floor of their practice facility, they knew the soles belonged to their young power forward.
- Some of the best in air shots of Blake doing what he does best over at SI.com. My favorite is #2. Post your favorite of the 17 in the comments below.
- How popular is Blake right now? Just about everyone at ESPN wants to talk about him:
ESPN’s Outside the Lines on his impact on the Clippers:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZcASkGQH0k]
Tony and Wilbon on PTI on Blake vs. the Lakers:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg3oDMKjsck]
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN LA on SportsCenter:
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