Yeah, I know. It’s only preseason, so we shouldn’t get too carried away. But, this is the only thing that we have to measure him against. The Clippers’ Blake Griffin has a brand spanking new surgically repaired left knee and he looks like he never missed a beat. Last night the Clippers took on the Kings and Blake’s production was reminiscent of his days at Oklahoma.
A few years ago when it was discovered that the former number one overall pick, Greg Oden, would eventually miss his entire rookie season, I thought that it was a very unfortunate situation because he was taken first in the draft and because it was somewhat unprecedented. Then last year, we found out that the same would be happening to Blake Griffin. For a guy who relies very heavily on his legs and unmatched athleticism, I wondered how Griffin would rebound.
While in college at Oklahoma, Griffin embarrassed competition regularly. Have you ever been to a high school basketball game and there’s this one kid who is bigger, faster and stronger than everyone else? Well, that was Griffin in college, and we’re talking about D-1 basketball here. The one play at Oklahoma that summarized Griffin’s two years there was in a game against Syracuse where he went up for a baseline dunk and hit his head on the backboard. You don’t see that everyday, so when I did, I literally had to change the channel because I was so disgusted (But I changed it back quickly. I mean, it happened in the tournament).
This will technically be Blake’s rookie campaign and is eligible for Rookie of the Year honors. Last night was a good start for him. He finished with a double-double which consisted of 18 points and 13 rebounds, as the Clippers topped the Kings 102 – 88. In fact, he amassed those numbers by halftime as he had 11 points and nine boards at the end of the first quarter. However, that was the second preseason game for Griffin and the Clippers. A few nights prior the Blazers beat the Clippers 115 – 86, where Blake had just nine points and seven boards in 22 minutes. Not terrible, but his outing last night was much better. Apparently he just had to shake off the rust.
Was he able to be so productive because it was preseason? We’ll find out soon enough. Griffin is a beast and as I stated a little while ago, he relies very heavily on his athletic ability. His production is largely accredited to that and not necessarily due to nice footwork in the paint, or a patented corner bank jumpshot. With that said, will his knee hold up because if you take away his athleticism, you take away Blake Griffin.
If last night was any indication, he should have nice rookie season and has a legit shot to win Rookie of the Year. Many felt that if he was healthy, he would’ve received the award last year. I’m not so sure because it’s tough to argue with Tyreke Evans’ 20, 5 and 5. This year, he has even more competition if he wants to take home the award. John Wall and Evan Turner may have something to say about that. But I’m sure that’s the last thing on his mind. I’m sure he’s just happy to be back and banging on the block again.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
