I had a chance on Tuesday to look at some advanced numbers from Blake Griffin’s sophomore year at Oklahoma, and posted about it at TrueHoop:
- The first thing that jumps off the page in Griffin’s report is the percentage of his offense that comes from post-ups — 44%. To put that in perspective, Al Horford came ouf of Florida with a 43% number, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many amateurs who get out of the 30s. Horford was a bit more efficient than Griffin on the block (1.11 vs. 1.00 points per possession), but Griffin’s number is still very strong. As the Synergy report states, “Blake’s proficiency in this area will not only produce a high percentage shots for his team when he goes to work on the block, it will also create open shots for his teammates when players are forced to leave their men to help defend Blake’s post-ups.”
- Baron Davis, take note: Griffin’s numbers indicate that he moves as well off the ball as any big man we’ve seen in recent years. He recorded a whopping 1.5 points per possession on cuts. The reports says it all, “This indicates that Blake is active, has good hands, and knows how to score the ball attacking the rim. This is a valuable asset that produces easy scores and cause the defense to track yet another offensive threat. Combine a good passing point guard with Blake and his team will burn the defense in this type of offense.”
- Griffin will need to spend a lot of time developing his jump shot. He generated only 0.64 points per possession on spot-ups. At Oklahoma, those opportunities accounted for only 2% of his offense, but at the pro level, he can’t be an elite power forward without some range.
- Griffin is a terrific big man in transition, where he chalked up 1.32 points per possession. The comp here is Brandan Wright, who had similar success on the break at Carolina in 2007-08. If the Clippers can get stops and control the defensive glass (two big ifs), they’ll be able to use Griffin to get out of the offensive efficiency cellar — they finished 30th in the league last season.
There’s some other interesting stuff in the data. Griffin is an efficient scorer on both blocks. He works from the left block 51% of the time, and the right block 41% of the time, averaging 0.99 PPP and 1.01 PPP respectively. Once he gets the ball, Griffin prefers to spin baseline — which makes sense given that he hasn’t yet developed a face-up game. Expect to see defenders to cut off that baseline in his rookie campaign and force him to shoot from the middle of the lane.
When we talk about Griffin’s development as a pro, we spend most of our time discussing his shooting — but learning to play pick-and-roll basketball will be another vital piece to his maturation as a big man. Pick-and-rolls accounted for only 3% of his offensive possessions at Oklahoma last season, which isn’t abnormal at all. Only a few college programs — like Texas and Ohio State in recent seasons — run a pro-style offense. Griffin has the quicks, athleticism, and body to be a phenomenal PNR player. Watching him cultivate that part of the game will be even more satisfying than watching him refine his jump shot — particularly as he and Eric Gordon establish a two-man game.
16 Responses
Let’s see how much MUSCLE POWER this Clipper mngt is going to muster this time around. We expect them to engage in trade deal with Memphis and bring in Ricky Rubio. In return, Memphis can have anyone in return except Gordon, Taylor and DeAndre.
IMAGINE the trio of Gordon-Griffin-Rubio!
This team can build around these 3 & sustain successful seasons for years.
If they achieve this goal, then go talk to Dallas, Denver, Spurs and Cleveland. Find new homes for Baron, Ricky and Camby. Keep Kaman.
WE NEED SOLID DEFENDERS. Get Some.
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Everybody is projecting Blake Griffin to be like Carlos Boozer but I see him being more like Kenyon Martin minus the tattoo”s and Trina.
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 9:33 am
I think he will be a lot better than Kenyon Martin. Kenyon Martin can’t score worth a damn in the post; he has terrible footwork. Griffin’s numbers indicate a lot of versatility, and being the gym rat he is there is no reason he can’t develop a better jumper, at which point he will be impossible to guard. Surround him with good perimeter shooters and defenders and a good point guard (all of which we potentially have already except the perimeter defender) and we will be a force.
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 9:51 am
After Ricky D., Kaman has got to be the first to go……
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Firedunleavy .com Reply:
June 24th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Yeah, because the Ricky Davis 2.4mil contract is really killing 2nd lowest team salary in the league. Getting rid of him will solve all the Clipper’s problems.
He was never brought in to be a starter and he’d probably be useful under a new coach. Who really cares, it’s not going to make much of a difference.
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yep Reply:
June 24th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Thank goodness I don’t have to read your drivel on Clipsnation anymore.
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 10:28 am
It seems like no one is willing to take on Kaman. Camby’s the only one with real trade value (sigh).
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Camby , who on any given night can pull down 20+ rebounds and possibly be resigned for cheap after this year.
If Kaman does get traded , who has to pay that extra cash thats part of his contract ?
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Remind me of why I’m a Clipper fan again? Oh yeah, I’m INSANE!!!
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090624&sportCat=nba
How bad can we really be?
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
yes i saw the page 2 story and yes it hurts missing on chuck and scottie i feel so sorry for blake after readaing that article.I guess i will have to pray that he doesnt have the normal clipper history of shaun livingston injury (freak)or leave in 3 years or they mdsr or and uncle tom sterling.Find a way to trade him for the russian they drafted a couple years back.
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Regarding Mr. Simmons story on page #2 I feel this is a compliment for Clippers Fans. If you spend three days or four days preparing this story he is the one who is insane.
The most of the writers are from the East, they do not like California at all. The can not critize the Lakers because is a solid organization so we are the “soft” target.
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
The Simmons article has some interesting history, but the whole curse thing is a ridiculous conceit. You know Bill, writer’s block is not such a bad thing sometimes.
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
we should have traded ricky, and zack for richardson
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Simmons is a total Jacka$$. As if the leastern conference teams don’t suck. Knicks anyone?
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bootstrenf Reply:
June 25th, 2009 at 11:01 am
“leastern” conference….
haha, i get it…..very clever, i like it…..
if you don’t mind, i will use that line in the forums from now on…
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Posted on June 24th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Very interesting article.
I haven’t see Blake Griffin play that much … so it was good to hear so much of his offense came out of the low post and how effective he was with it … it sounds like he can be a good go-to scorer in the low post in the NBA.
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Posted on August 22nd, 2009 at 8:59 am
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