Detroit Pistons: Blake Griffin keeping team afloat

The Detroit Pistons have underwhelmed this season, but that’s no fault of Blake Griffin, who has kept this team in the playoff hunt with his play.

After a narrow loss to the Sacramento Kings, the Detroit Pistons are now 20-25 on the year. This record comes as a huge disappointment after an offseason that was filled with optimism. Due to an Eastern Conference with a lot of struggling teams, they sit ninth overall, but that position could be much worse if it weren’t for the heroics of power forward Blake Griffin.

Griffin is having easily the best season of his career, averaging 26.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from 3-point range. The Pistons have needed every bit of it with how the rest of the team has struggled.

Griffin leads the team in points and assists, but he does much more than just that. He is the hub the offense runs around, and they will only go as far as he takes them. The differences are easily noticeable in the wins and losses. Griffin shoots over 50 percent from the field in the team’s wins, but that percentage drops around six points in losses. He also struggles to hit from distance the way he does in their wins.

Griffin has continued to develop his 3-point shooting to become a more consistent threat from outside. He actually has the third-best percentage among rotation players on this team, all while taking a whopping 6.6 attempts per game. On a team with a limited unit of 3-point shooters, that consistency has become even more important to carry the team. Unfortunately for Griffin, he hasn’t been surrounded by enough production to support the work he is able to put in.

The differences in Griffin’s production with this team are seen in the on/off numbers. The team is better on both ends of the floor with him on the floor. Griffin’s box plus/minus numbers are the stuff of elite players. He grades out in the 92nd percentile per BBall Index’s metrics in BPM, and his Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) puts him in the 93rd percentile among qualified players. Without Griffin leading the charge, this team would be in the basement of the Eastern Conference.

Griffin commands so much attention, which is how he is able to effectively set up his teammates. In the clips above and below, Griffin’s ability to penetrate and distribute sets up teammate Reggie Bullock with great looks.

Other players on the team just can’t do that as he can. Reggie Jackson used to, but injuries have sapped his athleticism. With Griffin on the floor, this team just plays differently.

His value in wins shows how important he is to the team also. His RPM in wins is better than 90 percent of the NBA. His VORP of 2.7 dwarfs everyone on the team, with Andre Drummond a distant second at just 0.8.

It’s likely the team is going to build around Griffin for the future, and he is showing that is a good decision over the next few seasons while he is in his prime. The task for Griffin will be showing this production can be maintained in the future.

The 3-point shooting is the most important at the end of the day. His passing is going to continue to get better, but that shooting has been inconsistent in his career. Coming into the year, 3-point shooting was one of the big goals for Griffin. He’s achieving his goal, but the rest of his teammates are not achieving theirs. As the season progresses on, the Pistons’ only chance to make the playoffs is on the shoulders of Blake Griffin.