Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan Playing Better Without Griffin

When Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin went down due to injury, many thought that the team would drop significantly in the playoff race after it was announced he would miss significant time

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This has to serve as a compliment to Griffin, who by all accounts has been an All-Star caliber player throughout his entire NBA career. Griffin currently holds career averages of 21.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game on 52.4 percent shooting from the field.

From his early days in the league to now, Griffin has evolved into one of the most versatile big men in the game, as he handles and passes the ball well for a post player, and can also step out and hit the mid-range jump shot with consistency now.

Down low, Griffin is still a force to be reckoned with, as his strength and large frame give any interior defenders problems when they try to deal with him one-on-one.

Griffin’s overall talent and impact are undeniable, which is why conventional wisdom would say that the Clippers would be struggling without his services.

However, that is not the case, as the Clippers are one of the hottest teams in the league right now.

Without Griffin, the Clippers have won seven of their last 10 games, which is remarkable considering how important he is to their offensive game plan.

How have the Clippers managed to do this? Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan have taken their games to another level.

If the Clippers wanted to keep winning games, naturally their other star players would have to step their games up in order to make up for the loss of Griffin’s production. Luckily for the rest of the team, they have, and it’s been their play that has allowed the team to sustain success over this period without Griffin.

Over these last 10 games, Paul has been scoring 21.2 points per game on 52.2 percent shooting while dishing out 12.6 assists and grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game. These are impressive numbers from Paul, who some said had not been playing at a level that many are accustomed to seeing him play at.

When the Clippers have struggled on offense and needed buckets down stretches, Paul has been there to deliver that shot. Paul was already one of the most effective mid-range jump shooters in the league, but he has also been finishing at the rim and connecting on deep shots with much more consistency as well.

Paul has been more aggressive on offense without Griffin, something that the Clippers have seriously benefited from. He’s also made others around him better, including Jordan.

If Paul’s numbers over this stretch have been impressive, then I don’t even know what to say about Jordan. His 15.8 points and 19.2 rebounds per game are absolutely absolutely absurd, even though he has a lot more space in the post to operate in with Griffin out. Still, Jordan is nearly averaging 20 and 20 per game without Griffin.

Numbers like these just aren’t seen every day, and they speak to how much Jordan wants to dominate and lead his team to hard-earned wins.

Jordan has been as active as any other Clippers player on the floor, looking to hustle and make plays on both ends of the floor. Jordan has been Los Angeles’ consistent post presence, and has really transformed into arguably the best finisher in the NBA with his season field goal percentage of 71.7.

Paul and Jordan knew that they would have to step their games up if they wanted to keep this team afloat and in the hunt for home court advantage in the Western Conference playoffs. Not only have they done that, but they now have analysts siding with their team again, so long as they can keep up this spectacular play even after Griffin comes back.

Both Jordan and Paul are helping their teams in ways that they hadn’t been all season, and are really making the other players around them better. Their dominance has led to more open shots and opportunities for their teammates, including Jamal Crawford who has also turned in some outstanding performances over these last 10 games.

It’s tough to say that Paul and Jordan are better off without Griffin, as he is one of the better power forwards in the game. However, the question deserves to be asked and answered because of what the team has done recently. I don’t think the Clippers are better off for long without Griffin.

With that being said, I think it’s good that he’s had to miss significant playing time because of how it has forced Paul and Jordan to step up and expand their games on both ends of the floor.

Sometimes players look to some of their teammates that are playing well and rely on them so they can take their feet off the gas and relax a little bit.

Griffin has become the kind of player that allows for that to happen, so with him gone, the rest of the team has had no choice but to be in attack mode the entire game, and they will have to have that kind of mindset if they want to advance anywhere in the postseason.

Take your time coming back Griffin, Paul and Jordan have everything under control in Los Angeles.

*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

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Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan Playing Better Without Blake Griffin

By Nathan Grubel | Mar 4, 2015

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