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Fantasy Basketball: (Early) Top 5 Power Forwards For 2015-16

By Jackson Sanders

Feb 24, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis (23) blocks the shot of Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (32) during the second half at the Smoothie King Center. The Clippers won 123-110. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 24, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis (23) blocks the shot of Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (32) during the second half at the Smoothie King Center. The Clippers won 123-110. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Fantasy Basketball
Apr 14, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers

The 2014-15 season was a big one for Blake Griffin. There are two separate developments in his game that impacted him this year, and could going forward.

First, and this was more notable to those who watched the Clippers this season, was that Griffin has started to drift away from the basket. For his career, he attempts only 24.8 percent of his field goal attempts from beyond 16 feet. In 2013-14, he took 26.7 percent of his shots from 16-plus feet, and that number rose to 37.8 percent this season.

In addition, he is dunking less. This season, only 8 percent of his field goal attempts were dunks versus a 16 percent career-average.

This helps explain his career-low field goal percentage (50.2 percent), and illustrates the evolution of Griffin’s game. The improved jumper gives him the ability to attack defenses in more ways than before, but it’s likely that his field goal percentage is going to vary more night-to-night for fantasy owners because of his new fondness for mid-range shots.

Second, his assist totals have risen to an excellent level for a big man. In 2014-15, Griffin cracked the five-assists per game mark (5.3 per game), and established himself as a potential 20-8-5 guy.

Certainly, we’ve seen what Griffin can do without Chris Paul, but he’s still a triple-double threat even with one of the best point guards in the game alongside him.

Of course, the major sticking point for many people is that despite his athleticism, Griffin simply doesn’t block that many shots. While that’s something worth considering, it’s difficult to pass on such an offensively potent player.

Blake Griffin provides an excellent dose of scoring and assists, while adding in solid rebounding totals. His game is clearly evolving, and his floor and ceiling make him worth considering at the end of the first round of fantasy drafts.

Next: #1 - Anthony Davis