The "violent front" Griffin, who once leapt over the car and buckled Gasol, is now 30 years old.
Just yesterday against the Lakers, Griffin cooperated with his teammates, pretended to send a hand pass, deceived the Lakers two defenses and dribbled the ball to the bottom corner, hitting an empty three-pointer.
Griffin's brightest label: "Violent Buckler"
A few years ago, who would have thought he would have dribbled and three-pointers?
The great former inheritor of violence
When he first entered the league, Griffin was like the "Griffin" of the eagle-headed lion in Greek mythology and legend, domineering and leaking sideways. Even after the 2009 winner took a year off from injury, NBA fans never lowered their expectations of him.
Because this is a genius of the past, he is the inheritor of the "violent front" such as "Rain Man" Camp and "Little Bully" Stoudemire.
"Yuanlang" is full of spirit
In high school, Griffin helped the school win the state championship with his brother Taylor Griffin, and in his junior year of high school, he averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds per game, and was named the Player of the Year by the Oklahoma. In his final year of high school, he led the team to the state championship again, and for a while it was no different.
With full honors, he entered the University of Oklahoma, was named to the league's best team in his freshman year, and in his sophomore year, he was able to average 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game, becoming the best player in the big twelve divisions. It's worth mentioning that Griffin has picked up a total of 504 rebounds this season, and since 1979, only Larry Bird has been ahead of him (only 1 rebound ahead). Meanwhile, averaging 14.4 rebounds per game is also the highest since Duncan in 1997.
Violent scoring methods and strong rebounding have made many teams in the NBA salivate at him, and the Clippers, who hold the pick, have seen something that no one else has seen during the trial - Blake Griffin can actually dribble three balls at the same time, which is rare among violent interior players.
Not surprisingly, the Clippers chose Griffin with a picket, but the latter had a problem with his left knee and had to undergo surgery. Griffin missed the entire rookie season, but he quickly surprised fans the following year.
Do you see who the Griffin compartment is?
In the dunk contest, he fully demonstrated his talent, whether it was an arm dunk or a leap over the car, this young man made people shine. Meanwhile, in his rookie season, he was able to deliver 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the regular season. Aside from the instability of the mid-range shooting, the lack of free throw shooting, and the poor ability to protect the rim (after all, the arm span is not long), he has few weaknesses — the Clippers fans have been waiting for this year, which is worth it.
Since then, Griffin has welcomed Paul, who have teamed up to help the Clippers become playoff regulars. Jordan Jr.'s growth, Paul's passing, combined with Griffin's violent aesthetic, made the Los Angeles Clippers not only have a good record, but also enjoy the reputation of "the city of air connection".
Heavy money to renew contracts and transactions
The Clippers played well and reached the playoffs for six consecutive years, but the griffin + Paul + Jordan Jr. combination has never touched the Western Conference floor.
The Clippers owner wasn't happy with the combination
This made the avid fan and Clippers owner Ballmer unhappy, and Paul also had a heart.
In the summer of 2017, Paul struck a deal with the Clippers, with the former executing a contract for next season and the latter trading Paul back to Beverley. Paul, the core of the team, was sent away, and It seems that Griffin will have more opportunities.
Also this summer, in order to renew Griffin's contract, the Clippers specially set up a venue for him, looking back at almost all of his highlight moments in the Clippers. Subsequently, Griffin formally signed a five-year, $173 million contract with the Clippers — he had planned to meet other teams such as the Suns, but the Clippers' "sincerity" allowed him to stay.
In a post-signing press conference, Griffin said the contract extension was a no-holds-barred decision and that the Clippers were where he wanted to start and end his career. The Clippers' management has also said that Griffin's signing is of great significance to the team.
But the big point for clippers management is not to keep Griffin, but to trade him as a bargaining chip to trade others and advance the Clippers' rebuilding — a contract extension and deal that has been planned since Paul left.
After the renewal of the contract, after a big deal, Griffin rushed to the Motor City
It is reported that after Paul left, West once proposed to Ballmer to trade Griffin, after a heavy contract extension, Griffin was injured again, the Clippers were very jealous of his "glass physique", and the Clippers' poor performance seemed to have to rebuild, so Ballmer agreed to the plan to trade Griffin.
According to the rules, Griffin, who has a maximum salary extension, cannot be traded before January 15, 2018, and it is really difficult to find a home for such a large contract, and it was only on January 30 that the deal was realized - the Clippers sent Griffin, Willie Reed, Bryce Johnson, and the Pistons exchanged Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Majanovic and a first-round draft pick plus a second-round draft pick chip.
This time the heavy transaction and contract renewal made Griffin realize what kind of vanity fair the NBA is.
In the East, Griffin and Drummond formed a new era of twin towers, and his style of playing also shifted from "violent front" to technical flow forward.
Harvest new students towards the playoffs
Looking back at the top 50 goals in Griffin's career so far, we can also see the change in Griffin:
In the Clippers period, either the partition this or the partition that, or the two of paul turned into an extremely fancy big windmill air connection;
At Motor City, Griffin's fish jump and long pass, as well as the breakthrough layup to kill the 76ers, and the dribble we mentioned at the beginning to shoot two three-pointers, became his best play - which was rare in his Clippers career (at least in the early stages).
Griffin, who came to the Pistons, seemed happy
In addition, the data can also explain his changes.
During the Clippers era, he needed to play a more terminator role, and due to Paul's presence, Griffin failed to become an absolute offensive organizer, and the Clippers did not tailor a system for him. After arriving at the Pistons, interior partner Drummond has a better offense and stronger finishing ability than Jordan Jr., and the team's guard Reggie Jackson will choose more to take on scoring tasks, and Griffin's hidden organizational skills are revealed.
Last year, during the Pistons' half-season, he averaged 6.2 assists per game, but his turnovers dropped to 2.64 (for comparison, he averaged 5.4 assists per game and 3.03 turnovers in the Clippers' half season).
The explosion of this season's interior pair is pushing The Motor City towards the playoffs
This year, after coach Casey, Griffin seems to be more successful, averaging 24.7 points (league 14th) 7.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists (24th in the league) in an average of 35.4 minutes per game, because with a "tower" teammate like Drummond, he doesn't have to worry about rebounds and rims.
What is even more gratifying is that Griffin's three-point shooting rate has increased to more than 35% this season, as high as 36.1%, and the average number of three-point shots per game has reached a career-high of 2.4.
It is because of the joint outbreak of Griffin and "Chuang Shen" that the Pistons have won more than 50% this season and are currently in sixth place in the East. If nothing else, they won't have a problem grabbing a playoff spot.
Although Griffin has only hit 8 of his 31 shots in the last three games, I believe that he knows how to adjust after nine years in this league.
Thirty and standing. The teenager who leapt into the car has grown up after experiencing the cold and warmth of the world.