Blake Griffin may have fallen victim to injuries in recent seasons, but the Los Angeles Clippers have been stunting his development for years.
The single most difficult aspect of developing a player into a franchise player is knowing how to peacefully experience a change of the guard. In the curious case of the Los Angeles Clippers, the mishandling of such a situation is exactly what’s caused the team to consistently underachieve.
While there have been no shortage of brilliant decisions during the Clippers’ tremendous resurgence, another early exit shines a light on the biggest issue at Staples Center.
Once again, the Clippers have thoroughly mishandled the development of Blake Griffin.
Los Anegles is cut some slack for 2016-17, as Griffin simply couldn’t stay on the court. After missing 47 games in 2015-16, Griffin missed another 21 games during the 2016-17 regular season and suffered a season-ending injury during the playoffs.
True as that all may be, Griffin’s mishandling has been a growing issue in Los Angeles that has only been acquitted by his untimely injuries.
Already a five-time All-Star after just seven NBA seasons, Griffin has earned the respect of the masses. Yet, when a big game arrives in the playoffs and Griffin is called upon, he consistently fails to provide the contributions expected of him.
The sad reality of this situation is that all of the Clippers’ key members have played some part in Griffin’s ceiling being dropped lower on a season-by-season basis.
How Chris Paul Hurts
Early in his career, it was entirely understandable for Blake Griffin to defer to Chris Paul. Paul is one of the greatest players and point guards in NBA history, and he made scoring a significantly easier task for Griffin.
As Griffin has grown, improved, and entered his prime, however, the Clippers have failed to find an ideal balance between he and Paul.
This isn’t necessarily Paul’s fault, but he creates too much of the Clippers’ offense. He’s more than capable of doing so, which is why Doc Rivers allows him to do so, but Los Angeles should be going through Griffin as often as they do Paul.
Not only is Griffin diversifying his offensive skill set to become one of the best scorers at his position, but he’s averaged 5.3 assists per 36 minutes since 2014-15.
If you look at Griffin’s usage rate, you’d likely believe this to be a non-factor. When watching the Clippers play, however, Paul noticeably dominates the ball and attempts to create every shred of offense for his teammates.
Paul and Griffin can be the contemporary version of John Stockton and Karl Malone, but only if Griffin is trusted with Malone-like opportunities and responsibilities.
It’s the only way to prepare him for an elevated role in the playoffs.
How DeAndre Jordan Hurts
DeAndre Jordan is a necessary player in the sense that he protects the rim and anchors the defense. Blake Griffin is physically capable of elite defense, but he’s long underwhelmed on that end of the floor.
If there’s one area in which Jordan is hurting Griffin, however, it’s rebounding—and that’s a painful truth in the current era.
Jordan dominating the glass and passing it off to Paul or Griffin would have worked in previous eras. Today, however, players such as Russell Westbrook and James Harden corral defensive rebounds and immediately head up court to run the fast break.
Although criminally underrated in this regard, Griffin is one of the best transition ball-handlers and playmakers in the NBA—and that strength needs to be capitalized on.
If Griffin were to crash the boards on a more consistent basis, he could be the one to kickstart the fast break. That would alleviate offensive pressure from Chris Paul and enable the Clippers to run the break with Griffin serving as both a scoring and facilitating threat.
With the unpredictability of a 6’10” and 251-pound point-power-forward running at full speed, the Clippers could find a way to better balance the offense between Griffin and Paul.
It’s On Doc Rivers
Doc Rivers has done an outstanding job of helping his players develop and improve. Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and J.J. Redick are shining examples of players who have made drastic improvements to their game under Rivers’ tutelage.
Although Rivers has played an instrumental role in the development of his players, he hasn’t done a strong enough job of helping them thrive during games.
Rather than having DeAndre Jordan crash the defensive glass on every play, Rivers should experiment with Griffin handling the ball and DJ filling the lane. With two near 7’0″ big men running full speed and passing between each other, the Clippers would have a true Twin Towers situation.
The fact that Chris Paul has experienced success in this very situation implies that Griffin, a bigger and more natural finisher, could add a new and crucial element to the offense.
Furthermore, it’s on Rivers to design an offense that features Griffin in a prominent enough role that he becomes accustomed to creating his own points against elite defenses. It’s on Rivers to ensure that Griffin is running the second unit if Paul takes over for the starters.
If he manages to re-sign Griffin and Paul, then it will be on Rivers to help that duo realize their potential by identifying their flaws and enabling one another to cover them up.
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The Los Angeles Clippers may re-sign Blake Griffin, but there are more changes to make than just the personnel.