Blake Griffin came into the NBA as the high-flying athletic forward from Oklahoma who became a fan-favorite for his never-before-seen dunks. On the Clippers, he had over 1,000 dunks spanning from 2010-18, but this season he has zero dunks, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Griffin was an All-Star in 2019, averaging 24.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG. Since then, he has dealt with injuries that have slowed his athleticism even more.
“He’s had a history of knee issues, where he used to be a player who lived above the rim. He’s adapted and become a guy that handles the ball very well. He passes very well, he’s making threes. He’s adapted and changed his game,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said, per Lewis.
Griffin has not shot the ball well this season (36.5% FG, 31.5% 3P), but playing with Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden, he is likely to get many more open shot attempts than he got in Detroit.
“We’ve got Joe in the corner and Ky in the corner. … We’ll have a ton of different options,” Nash said. “But Blake has developed his jump shot, so short rolling, he can knock that shot down.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Rival teams around the NBA do not expect the Knicks to make a big splash at the trade deadline on March 25th, reports SNY’s Ian Begley. The Knicks, who currently sit as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, are more likely to make a smaller move to bolster their roster, with J.J. Redick believed to be among their potential targets. “I know they’re looking at all the possibilities,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said of the front office. “If something makes sense for us, we’ll do it. If not, I love the team that we have. I love the guys that we have on the team. We’ll just keep working with what we have and (team president) Leon (Rose) and Wes (senior executive William Wesley), they’re combing the league. (GM) Scott Perry, that’s their job.”
- Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston takes a look at some trades that would make sense for the Celtics at the trade deadline. He looks at players such as Bulls forward Thaddeus Young, Cavs forward Larry Nance Jr. and Magic guard Terrence Ross.
- Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri has a long history of winning trades, including the 2011 deal between the Nuggets and Knicks that sent Carmelo Anthony to New York and the one-year rental of Kawhi Leonard that landed the Raptors a championship. With the Raptors holding the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference, Dave Feschuck of the Toronto Star looks at what the future holds for the roster and for face of the franchise guard Kyle Lowry. “If I can look at a crystal ball, I will tell you,” Lowry said. “(But) I don’t know what the crystal ball says.”
Yeah OK . Melo then was probably best player in NBA. Same for Kawhi. Who can really afford to trade for a 34 yr old PG making 30 mill. Best case for Lowry is he gets bought out. Raptors owe him that.
Except that unlike Melo, Kyle Lowry can still help out a contender.
You make no sense. Melo was a better player then, than Lowry has ever been. He put Knicks in playoffs he was 26 when traded. IMO it was one of dumbest trades. He was a FA and was gonna come to NY anyway. Forced by the genius owner. I’m not a Melo guy. He’s the original Harden to me. Himself above everything n everyone. Make a real point
Hard to find a bigger Lowry fan than me, I use to throw darts at a Aaron Brooks poster for holding Lowry down but I’m failing to see why Tor would owe him a buyout?
Maybe cause he gave it all to them. And nobody is trading for his 30 mill. Dude you really do need a reading comprehension class. Why do I need to explain things already written. At 34 his options are very limited. If he gets bought out. His options increase 10 fold. That’s what you do for an older player who gave you everything. Instead of ranting like Marty. Show us where he can go n Raptors get something. If you are unable to trade a 34 yr old payer you will Not resign. You can do right by him by buying him out. If Drummond a 27 yr old can get bought out. So can Lowry
Or…. he could play with Toronto in the playoffs this year? How, in that many words, didn’t that become an option for you ?
You want to just let a team ink Lowry for the prorated vet min at this point ….What is this 2k to you ? Yes he can be traded, easily, but I still think staying put is a strong option that somehow never crossed your mind
I have no problem with reading, your posts kinda make my eyes hurt for a tad, but I get the gist most of the time; you want all teams not title bound to cut their good older players and Rebuild Rebuild Rebuild , I disagree is all
C&C is on point here. Lowry came out and said it himself, he has no issue staying.
There are 6 contenders they could trade him to: Utah, LAC, LAL, BK, MIL, and Philly.
Utah and BK don’t need him, LAC LAL and MIL have nothing to offer. Philly might try to build a package around Green but how much do you give up for a rental?
Same goes for lesser teams like Denver and Boston
Al, with all due respect, Carmelo Anthony was never remotely close to being the best player in the NBA.
Best player in the NBA with a career plus minus of 0. Lololol.
You homers are too funny.
If you can pick up Drummond for nothing. Why not do it. He helps you this yr and in playoffs. Maybe even Thibs can work his magic on him. What we need most is a another consistent scorer. A player you can count on for 18-22 a gm. Those are out there and are available. Just don’t want to overpay for one. I’d rather wait for draft and FA instead of overpaying now. Big picture and keep rebuilding.
Fournier is a player I like.
Drummond likely would want to go for a ring. Knicks are not that type of team right now. They could definitely sign him in offseason but they already have Robinson.
We can do it if we trade for him. With Mitch hurt he’s worth a look. Cavs are not asking for much. They got him for nothing. We can even move Noel for value. I’d like to see what Thibs can do with him. Plus he helps us for playoffs even if it’s just depth.