Injury is an absolute nightmare for an athlete that he wants to avoid in his career. The "rose" Rose, who was in the limelight at that time, was because of injury factors, and eventually went into decline, and it was undoubtedly the regret of all fans that roses who could not see the peak.
In addition, Yao Ming was also plagued by frequent injuries, and finally chose to retire at the age of 31, which was heart-wrenching. However, even if the medical conditions are very advanced today, it is still impossible to stop the arrival of some accidents, including Blake Griffin, the inside behemoth who was once pinned high hopes.
Although Griffin has not been able to win the first man in the interior since entering the league in 2009, he can never deny his strong personal ability. Three second-time and one third-time is also enough to show that his ability has been affirmed. Even after being abandoned by the Clippers and sent to the underdog Pistons in the later stages, Griffin was still able to play the top statistics of 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game, and was selected as an All-Star.
However, the choice to play in the playoffs with an injury that year became a turning point in his career, and the athletic talent he relied on fell off a cliff, leaving Griffin with no capital on the inside. The NBA is not a human place, once you lose value, then then there is a trade, and eventually Griffin was sent to the Nets, although he could still give 10 points and 4.7 rebounds last season, but this season everything has changed.
The offensive end is inefficient and the tactical effect is not great
This season, the Nets can be said to be full of problems, not only Irving's "rejection of vaccines", Harden's parting ways with the team, but also the positioning and use of players. Many fans and the media have complained about Griffin during the regular season, and indeed as a former All-Star, he is still a 33-year-old who still has a fight.
But, on closer inspection, Nash had enough reasons to abandon Griffin. First of all, on the offensive end, whether it is the Clippers period or the Pistons period, although Griffin has a lot of mid-range shots, but there is no such problem, coupled with the fact that now the injury has made him lose the threat to the basket, the opponent will not be afraid of his breakthrough, confrontation, in addition to eating cake under the basket, he has almost no choice. According to statistics this season, Griffin has only shot 6 of 18 in total, and the rest are under the basket and outside the three-point line. 42.5% shooting and 26.2% three-point shooting, making the situation even more embarrassing, 2.06 meters of altitude, as well as the disadvantage in arm span, coupled with the loss of athleticism, Griffin has almost no threat on the inside, compared with Drummond and Clarkston, he is undoubtedly at a disadvantage.
Outside the three-point line, he himself has no range, and the team cannot set up a three-point tactic for him in the case of durant, Irving, Curry Jr. and other three-point masters, so Griffin is almost a "cumbersome" presence on the offensive end. So it's no surprise that he's averaging just 6.4 points per game this season.
Defenses that are not outstanding are now being targeted everywhere
Speaking of offense, we have to talk about Griffin's defense. Ever since he made a name for himself in 2011 and almost often contributed to the smash, everyone would have thought that the future Griffin was the hegemon of the interior and selectively ignored his defense. And now from an objective point of view, he is indeed not a defensively excellent player. For many superstars, perhaps at their peak, they can enjoy the privilege of being slightly "lazy" on the defensive end, after all, the pulling power on the offensive end, coupled with huge consumption, it seems unrealistic to be able to attack and defend the whole field. But once you transition to the bench and rotate players, then you have to put more effort into defending and serving the team, which legendary interior stars including Duncan, David Robinson, Ewing and others have experienced.
However, it's not that Griffin isn't willing, it's that he can't. With a defensive efficiency of 112.5, he can only rank 267th in the league, and he is at a huge disadvantage among the interior players. Drummond said that after all, the height is still there, and the rebounding is also a must, which is why Nash is more inclined to use the Chuang Shen. Griffin's rebounding rate is only 11.6%, he is not a player known for rebounding, and he does not have much effect on the interference of opponents' shots, of course, Griffin's hard work is still OK, after all, in terms of making dribbling people, the whole league except Lowry, almost no one can match, but this is also his only effective contribution.
In the playoffs this season, the Nets were swept out by the Celtics by a 0:4 score, which was an absolute shame for them who were regarded as the first favorite to win the championship before the start of the season. Now 33 years old, Griffin's basic salary contract will expire this summer, presumably abandoned, he will not choose to stay in Brooklyn.