NBA Saturday: Griffin On Pace to Join Elite Company

Blake Griffin entered the league with a bang. In his rookie season, Griffin routinely posterized opposing players and earned a reputation as one of the game’s elite athletes and dunkers.

However, Griffin’s relentless aerial assault caused some backlash from fans and analysts. Griffin was often referred to as “just a dunker,” which became the rallying cry for critics of his game. Other criticisms have revolved around Griffin’s shaky shooting mechanics, below league-average shooting percentages from the perimeter, awkward post-game, mediocre defense, and reputation for flopping. While all players receive criticism for shortcomings in their games, it has always seemed like Griffin has received an extra-layer of criticism that has blurred out just how good he is on most nights.

The newest criticism for Griffin revolves around his rebounding. Griffin is grabbing just 7.6 rebounds per game this season, which is 1.9 less rebounds than last season, and 4.5 less than his rookie season. Griffin is currently rebounding the ball less than rival power forwards like Zach Randolph, Anthony Davis, Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Tim Duncan, among others. It is a genuine cause for concern considering how young he is and how good of a rebounder he used to be.

But while Griffin’s rebounding numbers are down, his playmaking ability has improved significantly this season. Griffin has always been a good ball-handler for his position and a good passer, but this season he is averaging a career high 25.5 assist percentage (his previous best assist percentage was 19.9 in 2012-13, per basketball-reference.com). Griffin is currently ranked first among all power forwards in assist percentage, followed by Josh Smith—who played for several seasons as a small forward—with a 21.8 assist percentage.

This may not seem like a huge deal, but consider that Anthony Davis, who is having a historically great season and is considered by many to be the best all-around power forward in the game today, has an 8.7 assist percentage (which is also a career high). Sure, Davis rebounds more than Griffin and is great shot blocker (2.9 per game this season), but if we are going to praise Davis for excelling in these areas, shouldn’t we also be recognizing Griffin for his ability to set up teammates for easy scoring opportunities?

In a way, Griffin seems to be transitioning from the traditional 20-and-10 power forward he was early in his career, and is now becoming a LeBron-light type of point-forward. That may seem like a leap, but Griffin’s numbers (minus three-point shooting) can be characterized as a lesser version of James’ nightly stat line.

But even if critics are more interested in pointing towards Griffin’s rebounding deficiencies than his improved playmaking, they should recognize that he is on pace to become one of just a few players that have averaged more than 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game through an entire season. As of today, Griffin is averaging 22.6 points. 7.5 rebounds and five assists per game.

Dating back to the 1960-61 season, there have been just 25 players to have such a season (according to basketball-reference.com), including legendary players like Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamerlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and more recent players like Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett, Antoine Walker, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant. That is pretty good company (to say the least) and it shows that Griffin has diversified his game to the point that no one should be calling him “just a dunker” at this point. The last power forward to put up numbers like this was Kevin Garnett in the 2004-05 season, when he averaged 22.2 points, 13.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

What is arguably most impressive about Griffin’s place among this elite group of players is that he is putting up these numbers in the fewest minutes per game of anyone on the list (35.5). Griffin’s closest competition in this regard comes from Larry Bird, who in 1991-92 played 36.9 minutes per game through 45 total games played. The vast majority of the other players in this group played well over 38 minutes per game. Of course, Griffin will have to keep up this pace for the rest of the season, but with his recent performances and assist totals, it seems likely that will happen.

In addition to improved playmaking, Griffin has also come a long way with his jump shot. Early in his career, Griffin spent most of his time rolling to the basket for shots at or near the basket. Griffin has always been a good finisher at the rim and an average jump shooter, so this approach on offense made sense. However, Griffin has come a long way with his shooting mechanics and is now a more willing, and accurate shooter from the perimeter, which we can see by comparing his shooting chart from his rookie season with this season’s shooting chart.

 Rookie Season Shooting Chart

2014-15 Shooting Chart
(Courtesy of www.statmuse.com/nba)

As these charts make clear, Griffin has significantly improved his shooting from the perimeter, especially from just above the free-throw line. This type of spacing is crucial for the Clippers’ offense, which is currently ranked first in the league, per nyloncalculus.com. The next step for Griffin is turning those long two-pointers into three-pointers, which is something he has mentioned in the past as a developing part of his game.

Griffin may not grab as many rebounds as LaMarcus Aldridge, shoot three-pointers like Kevin Love, or block as many shots as Anthony Davis, but he has evolved into arguably the most unique power forward in the NBA today. There are certainly areas where Griffin still stands to improve significantly, but it’s about time we start appreciating the aspects of Griffin’s game that makes him so dynamic, rather than just focusing on things he doesn’t excel at.

Atlanta Hawks Keep Soaring

On Friday night, the Atlanta Hawks extended their winning streak to 18, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 105-99.

With the win and the Golden State Warriors losing their second game in a row on Friday, the Hawks now stand alone with the league’s best record (39-8). The Hawks recently became the 17^th team in league history to tally off 17 wins in a row and are now the fifth team to win 18 games in a row before the All-Star break. Also, with their recent hot streak, the Hawks have moved past the Los Angeles Clippers in net efficiency (8.1), per nyloncalculus.com.

Shooting guard Kent Bazemore filled in for DeMarre Carroll and Thabo Sefolosha, who were both sidelined with lower-leg strains. Bazemore played 40 minutes and contributed 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

While everyone is talking about how fluid the Hawk’s offense is, surprisingly it is their defense that is thriving. As of today, the Hawks have third best defensive efficiency rating in the league, behind only the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers.

The Hawks will look to extend their winning streak later today against the Philadelphia 76ers.

New Orleans Pelicans Keeping Pace Despite Loss of Jrue Holiday

Most people assumed that once Kevin Durant returned from his offseason foot surgery, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns would be in a two-way fight over the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

Well, Durant returned to action on December 2, but the Thunder are still four games behind the Suns in the playoff race, and are surprisingly still 1½ games behind the New Orleans Pelicans who have been without starting point guard Jrue Holiday for the last nine games.

The Pelicans registered a big win last night against the streaking Los Angeles Clippers, who had won six games prior to Friday night’s loss in New Orleans. Shooting guard Eric Gordon had a big night, contributing 28 points, seven assists, two rebounds and made five of his seven three-point attempts. Tryeke Evans also played well, almost registering a triple-double with 11 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.

The Thunder still have time to go on a hot streak and make up ground in the West, but they need to start registering every win possible now. Though Durant missed Wendesday’s game against the New York Knicks with a toe injury, that is not the type of game the Thunder can afford to lose at this point in the season. The margin for error is razor-thin at this point with the Phoenix Suns four games ahead in the standings and the Pelicans winning seven of their last ten games.

The Thunder will look to get back on track later today against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Vince Carter Out With Foot Injury

Chris Mannix of SI.com reported on Friday that an MRI revealed a tendon injury in Vince Carter’s foot, which will keep him sidelined for some time.

Carter, age 38, has thrived the last few seasons by remodeling his game and turning into a solid 3-and-D player. Unfortunately Carter has slowed down in his first season with Memphis, averaging just six points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 16.6 minutes per game. Most notably, Carter’s three-point shooting percentage is down from 39.4 percent last season with the Dallas Mavericks to 27.3 percent this season.

It is unclear how significant Carter’s foot injury is at this point, but it seems as though he will be sidelined for some time. While the loss of Carter is unfortunate, the Memphis Grizzlies have recently acquired Jeff Green in place to pick up the slack from Carter’s absence.

The Memphis Grizzlies are now 34-12 and have quietly won five games in a row and are currently in second place in the Western Conference.