National Basketball Association

Rants and Raves: Griffin impresses

Published Dec. 2, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

The two most heralded newcomers to the NBA are Blake Griffin and John Wall, the latter succeeding the former as the most recent first overall draft picks. Here’s a scouting report of Griffin’s thunderous 31-point performance as he led the Clippers to a 90-85 upset over the Spurs on Wednesday night.

POSITIVES

• The young man has great hands, good timing, and a red-hot competitive spirit—all of which make him an outstanding three-space rebounder. Credit him with 13 retrievals.

• If he can approach the rim with a running start, Griffin soars above everybody else — his head nearly touching the rim.

• He moves extremely well without the ball. Five of his 14 buckets came on various backdoor dashes and screen/roll cuts when his teammates found him on the move.

• Griffin is quick enough to fill a lane on fast breaks with two of his field goals coming on the run.

• Give him a short runway and a precise pass and Griffin becomes a dunk-o-maniac. Eleven of his hoops were either monster jams or power layups.

• His pet move is to dribble left and spin right, but he also registered a layup-and-one when he reversed this procedure. From the left box (the only site for his post-ups), his quick, power drives baseline are irresistible.

• His passwork was smart and snappy.

• On defense, he anticipated a spin by Tim Duncan and clearly drew a charge, but the veteran-rookie confrontation influenced the refs to toot Griffin for a block.

NEGATIVES

• Griffin has one of the worst jump shots since the heyday of Dennis Rodman. Overall, Griffin shot 14-for-21 but was only 1-5 when unloosing his springers. Moreover, the one he did convert was accidental as he slipped and tossed the ball in the general direction of the rim.

• No surprise that he missed half of his six free throws. From the stripe, Griffin’s form is stiff and he tends to fade as he releases the ball.

• As high as he can sky when he can gather himself, Griffin’s elevation is drastically reduced when he has to jump from a standstill. His slow ups cost him three rebounds, while seven of his rebounds were of the uncontested variety.

• Because he was matched up against either DeJuan Blair (who scored six points in face-to-face confrontations) or Matt Bonner (who scored zilch), Griffin’s defense was never really challenged. But he was lost in space when hit with a cross-screen in the paint, wandered in no-dee land after showing on several screen/rolls, and was twice faked into the ozone 20-plus feet from the hoop.

• The Spurs read two of his favorite left-to-right spins leading to a blocked shot and then a steal.

• On several occasions, Blair was able to bully Griffin out of optimal rebounding position.

In sum, most of Griffin’s flaws are merely functions of his inexperience and can be corrected. However, he must develop a wider variety of attack moves with the ball, and also learn how to use his arms to quicken his lift-time. And he absolutely must devote the largest portion of his off-season learning how to shoot.

Given his desire and his work ethic, Griffin is guaranteed to become a well-rounded perennial All-Star sooner rather than later.

RANTS

Dwyane Wade recently said that winning is “tougher” than he expected. Duh! Maybe this is so because the Heat have nobody like Shaq controlling the paint? Or because LeBron plays like a stronger, bigger Allen Iverson? Or because D-Wade himself is shooting a career-low 44.3 percent and averaging only 4.2 assists?

***

How about the Sam Dalembert-for-Spencer Hawes trade as being one of the most meaningless in NBA history? The former is averaging nearly as many fouls-plus-turnovers (3.72) as points scored (4.6), while the latter is a total stiff.

***

What really boils my oil is the “LeBronization” of our entire sports culture. To wit, placing players and teams on pedestals before they achieve anything meaningful.

BTW, before the season started, the gambling titans in Las Vegas established the over/under  number for the Heat’s wins as 68.

***

Since the new Hall-of-Fame nominees have just been released, here are some active players who will likely be inducted when their careers are finished, but who absolutely do not deserve to be so honored:

Carmelo Anthony – Accumulating numbers, i.e., the Walt Bellamy syndrome, is the most important factor for admittance, and 'Melo is one of the beneficiaries. Has the numbers, doesn’t have the defense, passing ability or full-time passion.

Vince Carter – scores, but rarely in the clutch.

Kevin Garnett – another no-clutch performer.

Dwight Howard – overrated defense, low basketball IQ, not a winner.

LeBron James – the biggest fraud since White Chocolate.

Chris Paul – controls the ball too much, which is the main reason why his stats appear to be so impressive.

Amar’e Stoudemire – selfish, unaware, a loser.

RAVES

The more I see them, the more I like the Mavs. Shawn Marion is dynamic playing without the ball. Tyson Chandler is at the top of his game. Dirk is Dirk. Caron Butler gives them extra punch on offense. And Jason Kidd is still the smartest point guard extant. Nobody is nearly as adept as J-Kidd in getting the ball to a flash-post in heavy traffic. Plus, Jason Terry has yet to find any consistency. Also, credit Rick Carlisle for convincing his charges to amp up their defense.

The only caveat here is that, besides Kidd, Dallas isn’t a very good passing team.

***

Here are the active players who legitimately belong in the Hall of Fame.

Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Shaq, Paul Pierce, and D-Wade, if he can ever escape from the LBJ-centric situation in Miami.

Here are players who do deserve to be enshrined, but don’t have a chance:

Chauncey Billups – Not sufficiently inflated numbers, but he’s one of the best clutch shooters of his generation and is a leader par excellence.

Pau Gasol – For some reason remains under-appreciated.

Yao Ming – Like Bill Walton, a brilliant career perpetually hampered by injuries.

VOX POPULI

Q: Charley, I always read your articles because of your "non-fan" point of view. Can you compare Chris Bosh and Kevin Garnett in their individual games and in how they fit in their respective “big threes?" Why is Garnett more successful? — Ian L. Guballa, Santiago City, Philippines

A: As you might have noticed, I’m not a big fan of either of these guys. But KG is more successful because he’s tougher, plays with much more passion, and plays real defense. Also, Garnett is an integral part of Boston’s offense, whether posting up or getting in iso situations at an elbow or a wing. Garnett is also part of high screen/rolls designed to create switches that enable him to take smaller players into the pivot.

Compare KG’s game plan with Bosh’s ghost-like screens and getting iso-opportunities on a sometimes basis. Now it’s your turn, CB. Miss two in a row and you won’t see the ball for another 10 minutes or so.

Also, KG’s partners — Paul Pierce and Ray Allen — are renowned clutch players and are both excellent perimeter shooters. On the other hand, only Wade has proven to be a reliable performer in clutch situations. Moreover, the fact that neither Wade nor LBJ are fail-safe shooters enables defenses to cluster around Bosh in the low post. Something that Boston’s opponents can’t do when Garnett ventures into the pivot.

share

Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Basketball Association