Blake Griffin: The NBA’s Best Power Forward

Midrange Game

Again, a simple look at Griffin’s playoff shot chart doesn’t quite do him justice. He’s only made 20 of his 52 midrange attempts (38.5 percent), which is down from the 40 percent he posted on such attempts during the regular season.

But Griffin’s been particularly efficient from the top of the key, where nearly one-third of his midrange attempts have come from:

He’s struggled from the left elbow, knocking down only three of his 10 attempts. But defenses still have to respect his perimeter shot, and the decline in efficiency from the perimeter likely stems from A) all the energy he’s exerting attacking the basket and B) the fact that he’s logging an ungodly 41.0 minutes per game in the postseason — fifth most among active players.

And yet, even if there’s quite a bit of yellow and red on his midrange shot chart, Griffin has mostly been on par with the league average from those areas. Blake Griffin developing a midrange game is simply unfair given how effective he already is in the paint and in transition.

This isn’t the strongest area of Griffin’s game. He’s certainly no LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love in his ability to spread the floor. But he’s efficient enough from the midrange to extend the defense, so even if you’re not convinced by his perimeter shot, by decreasing his number of attempts from those areas of the floor, he’s been punishing opponents where they can’t stop him: in the paint.

Next: Backup PG