Griffin hasn't been with the Nets for a long time, but in the limited time we've seen the changes Griffin brought to the Nets and his own energy.
Although he was not the dunkman who could fly in the sky, he changed the game in his own way and affected the outcome of the game.
"Honestly, I think he's getting better and better almost every day." Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Max said his two dunks on Tuesday night were not surprising given that Griffin now feels healthier.
In February, after reaching a buyout deal with the Detroit Pistons, Griffin joined the Nets as a free agent, and he has not dunked in a game since Dec. 12, 2019. In his 28 games since joining the Nets, he has made 19 dunks. But it's not just a change in circumstances — or a change in the outlook for a championship that cheers him up.
Griffin's agent, Tyler Griffin, said his brother had been targeting March because he had just had his second knee arthroscopic surgery to fix a meniscus tear. The surgery hampered his first playoff run for the Detroit Pistons in three years during the 2019 season.
When the NBA decided to bring the start of the season forward to Christmas. Griffin had three months to go on to recover, and his second knee surgery recovered in less than nine months.
"It was definitely a rush trip." Taylor Griffin said. I think we see a lot of players who just need a little bit of time to get back to form.
"He has been absent for a lot of the previous year and he cannot be absent (at the beginning of the season). ... His knees are 100 percent healthy, but your physical health and being prepared to play NBA-level games every night is different. ”
In other words, Griffin is less likely to dunk. After his first surgery in April 2019, he has experienced a big setback and failed to correct the knee problem. "He didn't wash it the first time he wanted." Taylor Griffin said. "He always felt like he had been trying to play the game last season, but there was still something wrong.
"But (in January 2020) after the second surgery, it's like day and night." Griffin averaged 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 20 games with the Pistons this season before the two sides agreed to a trade or buyout deal. The Pistons began a rebuild under new general manager Troy Weaver, and the 31-year-old Griffin just spent a year and a half trying to get his knees back to normal so he could start all over again after the Pistons made the playoffs.
Griffin returned a large sum of money as part of his buyout deal with the Pistons. Once he was granted the exemption, Brooklyn quickly became his first choice. Mark and the Nets took a long-term view of griffin's health when they signed Griffin as a free agent. "We intend to spend our time with him," Mark said. Just to make sure we don't push him too far, too fast, too early, etc. "We know what we're going to get with experienced high IQ players.
So, from a career perspective, it's about being able to maximize what's left of him. From the first day we got him, we could see, 'Well, there's more.' Griffin was much more efficient with the Nets than he was with the Pistons, averaging 10 minutes less playing time per game, shooting 12.7 percent more and shooting 6.8 percent from beyond the three-point line. But it was these dunks that drew attention on social media.
"We know he can still dunk like that." Griffin's longtime agent, Sam Goldfield, said. This is not a surprise. It's only a matter of time. ”
Griffin was reborn as a butterfly, hoping that he could realize his championship dream with the Nets.