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The evolution of Blake Griffin continues to take place with each passing game. His transformation has been a steady process that might be difficult to catch with the naked eye, but can always be seen through the numbers. Griffin’s progression into becoming an all-around dominating player seems to be a step closer now that he’s adding one more term to his game; shot-blocker.
Now in his sophomore year, Griffin is now averaging 1.1 blocks per game, which is good enough to put him behind the league’s leading shot blocker, DeAndre Jordan, for second best on the team. It was pretty easy to see Griffin’s potential in becoming a shot-blocker because of his freakish athleticism. But there is a lot more than athleticism that’s needed to block a shot. With 0.6 blocks per game last season, Griffin’s timing and defensive IQ was not fully matured as a rookie. Yet, we can all see the growth in his defensive mind-set this season with his timing, help-defense, and ability to read opponents better on the drive. In the last 7 games, Griffin has found his groove, blocking at least one shot a game and averaging an impressive 2.1 blocks during that stretch. Last season, Griffin’s longest block party streak was 5 games, while he averaged 1 block a game in that streak.
Shifting Roles for the Guards
After suffering the big blow of losing Chauncey Billups for the remainder of the season on Monday night, the Clippers have no choice but to continue moving forward and have others step in to fill that void.
There’s no doubt that stepping in for Billups on the floor is a tall order, as he had the fifth highest winning percentage among all active NBA players and brought invaluable leadership. But luckily for the Clippers, they came into the season deep at the guard spot, so they will look to make up for the loss by committee.
Randy Foye is now plugged in at the starting shooting guard position, with Mo Williams staying put at that sixth man role that he’s excelled at. Williams has turned into arguably the leader of the Sixth Man of the Year award so far, because of his instant offence off the bench, averaging 14.5 points per game. But he’s also come up huge in games where either Chris Paul or Billups has been out, averaging a startling 20.6 points off the bench, to go with 4.4 assists on 54.8 percent shooting from the field. Williams is a veteran that knows when he needs to accelerate his game offensively and how to do that in the flow of the offense, and the numbers prove just that.
Foye is the other piece that has also done a fine job coming into games as a starter. Averaging 10.7 points, with over 2 three-pointers made per game on 43 percent shooting beyond the arc and 1.8 steals to boot, Foye has been able to knock down the long ball at a high rate but can also run the floor with Paul. He adds more athleticism to the line-up, and is another big guard that can guard multiple positions like Billups. With 24 starts last season, Foye came away averaging over 16 points and 4 assists per game, so there is no question that Foye has the capability to become another scoring threat on the floor.
The Road Tour Continues in Philly
The Philadelphia 76ers are slowly turning into a legitimate competitor in the Eastern Conference. The Clippers will go into Philly on Friday, trying to snap the Sixers league leading 14th straight home winning streak.
With renewed energy instilled by Head Coach Doug Collins, the Sixers are making a name for themselves by beating the heavyweight ball clubs as a unit. Philadelphia is only one of three teams in the league to have six different players that are averaging double-figures in points. If that’s not unique enough for you, their leading scorer, Louis Williams, is coming off the bench, racking in 15.5 points a night.
The 76ers share the ball extremely well, and score a ton of baskets at a high and efficient rate. They’re first overall in the league in field goals made (38.4 per game), fourth overall in 3-point percentage (39 percent) and assists per game (22.2), and fifth overall in field goal percentage (46.4 percent). Yet the key to this well-oiled machine is small forward, Andre Iguodala. Judging from his numbers (12.9 points and 5.2 assists per game), you may not think he could have such an effect on the team’s offense production. But when we look a little closer, we see a different story.
When Iguodala finishes the night above his season average with 13 points or more, the 76ers find themselves at an imposing 11-2 for the season. Along with his own shot making ability, the Sixers heavily rely on his facilitating role to run the offense. When teams have held Iguodala below his season average of 5 assists per game, the team’s record drops to just 7-6 for the season. Caron Butler will have the defensive assignment on the explosively athletic forward Friday night. It’ll be a tough task to keep the ball out of Iguodala’s hands as much as possible and not allow him to create looks for himself or his teammates, but Butler is more than capable for the job. But with one of the best benches in the NBA (76ers bench make up for 47 percent of the team’s points this season), Collins can always inject even more offense into the game if Iguodala is having an off-night. That’s why, the three keys to the game for the Clipper will be defense, defense and a little bit more defense.
More: The Numbers Game: Looking Ahead to the Road
