Blake Griffin Finds Criticism of His Game Premature and Unfair

Blake Griffin is one of the NBA’s best young players, and plays in one of the League’s biggest markets. As such, he is under a very large microscope. Every miscue is analyzed to death, and the Clippers’ star forward thinks it’s unfair at this stage of his career to take such a beating from critics. From the LA Times: “Is there no patience when it comes to a young guy playing in only his 156th game? ‘Nobody is giving me time to develop,’ Griffin said without complaint while both knees were wrapped in ice after the Clippers’ 108-92 Game 1 loss to the Spurs. ‘I have years to improve, but for some reason everyone talks now about what I can’t do.’ […] ‘It’s not fair,’ said Coach Vinny Del Negro. ‘He’s not 100%, it is his first playoffs, he just came through a rugged series and there’s a learning curve. It doesn’t happen overnight.’ It will be time to play here again Thursday, and if the Clippers expect to throw a scare into the Spurs, they will need more from Griffin and [Chris] Paul. It’s that simple. ‘I don’t know what everyone expects,’ said Griffin. ‘I expect a lot of myself, but at same time I know this is a process. I look around the league, and sure some guys have early success but for most it takes time to develop. I’m not going to stay the same player for the next 10 years.’”