In lieu of rumored nude pictures of actress Scarlett Johansson (I’ll wait for you to look it up…), Blake Griffin decided to tweet out a few funny remarks:

@blakegriffin: What’s all this talk about Scarlett Johansson and some pictures that…. Nevermind.

@blakegriffin: Attention Actresses: If you’ve EVER taken nude pics, prepare a statement now for when some guy steals/releases them. It’s gonna happen.

It seems nothing is really off limits with Blake; the jokes just keep coming no matter who he offends or upsets. If you don’t follow him on Twitter, you should (@blakegriffin). You never know what you may read next.

Twitter: @JovanBuha

Found Objects – 9.12.2011

• SLAM’s Aggrey Sam writes about Eric Gordon’s humbleness in “Finally Famous” (hat-tip to JaySee):

Despite Gordon’s Swiss Army knife package of an explosive first step, enough bunnies to be in All-Star Weekend’s Dunk Contest (although he’s much more of a game dunker), a pure stroke with unlimited range (that’s how they make ’em in the Hoosier State) and a frame that looks ready to play strong safety in the NFL, he doesn’t get that League-wide shine, even though he plays with one of the most exciting players in the NBA. Again, nothing new for him.

“I try to think of myself as one of the better guards out there, but it’s all about whatever people think,” says Gordon, in a laconic midwestern drawl that belies his on-court intensity. “All I worry about is whether I can get the job done and help the team in any kind of way.”

• Want to see the Vegas Impact League’s roster and schedule? Click here. Check out Team E’s roster – Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Bledsoe, Ryan Gomes, Travis Leslie, Willie Warren and Mo Williams.

• In SB Nation’s top-99 players of 2015, Al-Farouq Aminu (#88) and DeAndre Jordan (#52) make appearances (the rankings aare to only to #46 so far).

• Who are the top-5 small forwards in Clippers’ history? Here’s a fan’s perspective.

Twitter: @JovanBuha

Found Objects – 9.11.2011

• A must-read (and watch the video) by ESPN’s Justin Verrier about how basketball helped a New York firefighter overcome the pain and tragedy from 9/11. 

• HOOPSWORLD’s Eric Pincus believes the Clippers have one glaring need (yes, even more so than small forward): a closer. Here’s an excerpt, in which he cites the 2006 Clipper team as an example:

The 2006 playoff run to Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals was built on the back of Elton Brand.  The forward had one of his best years and was a true force throughout the postseason. Then again, Brand was one of the league’s best power forwards for years and yet he made the playoffs just once with the Clippers.

The difference was Sam Cassell, who the team had acquired before the season via trade from the Timberwolves for Marko Jaric.  The deal won’t actually be complete all these years later until LA uses Minnesota’s 2012 pick in what proved to be an incredibly one-sided trade.

Cassell was well past his prime as a Clipper and he only stayed healthy for the one season but in that brief period he was the best closer the team ever had.

For decades, Clipper fans have seen their team compete for 43-46 minutes nightly, only to lose in the final few minutes.

Sam pushed LA over the hump time and time again.  It’s holding onto those 50/50 games that can make the difference between 32 wins and the 47 LA won throughout the 2005/6 regular season.

• What’s Blake Griffin’s (and other young stars’) ceiling? How should we view the topic of “ceilings” and “potential”? Noam Schiller of Hardwood Paroxysm takes a look:

Blake Griffin has no ceiling. Mostly because no ceiling would dare try and obstruct him while he’s jumping upwards. Already one of the league’s best scorers without actually knowing how to score, and one of its best rebounders without actually knowing how to rebound, and on the heels of one of the most impressive passing seasons for a rookie big man ever, the notion of Blake playing basketball after actually learning to do so is utterly frightening.

• Shaq has a few controversial opinions on the league, including his belief that that only 9 or 10 teams have a star (and the list doesn’t include Blake Griffin and the Clippers).

• Clips Nation: Report from Lithuania – Chris Kaman.

• Blake didn’t seem thrilled to talk to this TMZ “reporter.”

Twitter: @JovanBuha

Despite the fact that DeAndre Jordan, Mo Williams, and Al-Farouq Aminu will be partaking in the “Competitive Training Series” at Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas — along with approximately 40 other NBA players — Blake Griffin is hesitant to join in (possibly to avoid potential injury?), according to ESPN LA’s Dave McMenamin:

The question remains as to whether last season’s Rookie of the Year, Blake Griffin, will join his teammates in Sin City.

Griffin’s agent, Sam Goldfeder, told ESPNLosAngeles.com on Wednesday that Griffin is not scheduled to play as of right now, but that could change.

Griffin, who first donned a Clippers uniform two summers ago during the Las Vegas Summer League with NBA commissioner David Stern watching from a courtside seat, has largely avoided the pickup game circuit that featured NBA stars playing in small gyms across the country this summer during the work stoppage.

Rather than play in L.A.’s fabled Drew League, Griffin secured an internship at Funny Or Die, the comedy website co-founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Later in the summer Griffin returned to his alma mater for Oklahoma’s “Legends Alumni Game,” but instead of playing in the exhibition, he merely threw up the ceremonial tipoff to begin the game’s second half and watched from the stands.