Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 at 3:12 pm  |  47 responses

A Chink in a Juggernaut’s Armor

Blake Griffin’s working hard to improve at the stripe.

by Patrick Crawley / @BasketballFiend

Gravity-defying dunks. Emphatic blocks. More double doubles than an In-N-Out kitchen. These are Blake Griffin’s specialties, and he’s used them to skyrocket to star status less than midway through his first NBA season.

He is a dominant athlete, a one-of-a-kind crowd pleaser capable of going up, around or through any player in his path. He’s averaging 20 points, 12 rebounds and at least one SportsCenter-worthy dunk per game. And he already has a signature posterization in his repertoire: The Mozgov.

By the time his career is over, he will have likely redefined the power forward position. Blake Griffin

But Griffin is not, contrary to popular belief, invincible.

He has flaws, among them: mid-range shooting, man-to-man defense and free-throw shooting; especially free-throw shooting. In fact, it’s the primary chink in his armor.

Through 25 games, Griffin has missed 83 free-throws.

He’s 109-192 from the stripe (56.8 percent if you’re into percentages), meaning not only has he out-shot the closest rookie (DeMarcus Cousins) by 100 attempts, he has also missed more free-throws than any other rookie (other than Cousins) has taken.

In some respects, this is amazing.

Kevin Durant, the best player in the League last season at getting to the line, attempted 448 free-throws his rookie season. LeBron James: 458. Griffin is on pace for 629.

But it’s also disconcerting.

In a recent loss to the Trail Blazers, Griffin shot extremely poorly from the line. He missed 11 of 17 free-throws, essentially costing the Clippers a win (they were down just three points in the final minute). That’s hardly an isolated incident, either. Griffin has shot 50 percent or below from the line in 14 games this year.

Bad free-throwing shooting is nothing new when it comes to big men – Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal both shot under 60 percent from the line in their rookie seasons – but it’s a problem nonetheless.

Griffin averages 7.7 free-throws per game, and the Clippers lose by an average of 5.9 points. It’s not like he’s singlehandedly costing his team games or anything (even if he made 80 percent of his attempts, it would only reduce his team’s losing margin by about 1.8 points). Quite the opposite – he’s the one keeping his team in the game in the first place.

Still, it’s something you’d like to see a star player improve on, a point that’s not lost on the Clippers’ coaching staff or Griffin.

“He works every day on [free-throws],” said Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro. “You’ve got to throw him out of the gym. But shooting them in practice and shooting in games are different.”

Griffin’s having a difficult time making that adjustment. When asked why, he’s puzzled.

“I wish I knew,” he said, shaking his head. “I can shoot free-throws great in practice.”

The team tracks free-throw stats in practice and Griffin gets high marks, according to his coach. He has a problem with his mechanics: “He shoots with his arms a little more than his body and his legs, especially when he gets tired,” Del Negro said. But Del Negro tries not to preoccupy him too much with fixes.

“We’re working on certain things with him,” Del Negro said. “But if you give young players too much then they start thinking and they get too technical.”

It’s a hands-off approach, something that may not please Clippers fans but does make Griffin feel more comfortable as he tries to improve.

“I shoot with Coach [Marc] Iavoroni and Coach Del Negro will come over and help sometimes,” he said. “But they don’t really do a lot of correcting or anything like that. In practice I can hit [free-throws], it’s just a matter of taking that and transitioning it to games.”

Making that transition is easier said than done. Howard and Shaq continue to struggle from the line, even after years of NBA experience (18 years of experience in Shaq’s case). But if Griffin’s work ethic is any indication, he’ll pick it up sooner rather than later.

“I’m going to keep working on it,” he said. “Eventually I’ll get it.”

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  • Raj Posted: Dec.15 at 3:16 pm
    lol…if one saw the article, one may assume it to be sort of racist if he/she interprets it the wrong way

  • Raj Posted: Dec.15 at 3:16 pm
    i meant the title

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.15 at 3:24 pm
    blake griffin is the best rookie out there and a top 5 power forward in the league already.. just thot i would throw that out there

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.15 at 3:31 pm
    ^and if anyone disagrees jus get the hell of this site and dont comment cause there is no argument you can make against this

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Dec.15 at 3:49 pm
    The warriors are hardly a juggernaut, and you shouldnt call jeremy lin that. Please dude, the preferred nomenclature is asian american.

  • jtam101 Posted: Dec.15 at 4:23 pm
    As an Asian Canadian, I am extremely offended by the title of this article and will be canceling my subscription to this magazine immediately.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.15 at 4:26 pm
    ^jtam101..
    dude i dont think iv ever seen you post on here before and im sure SLAM will lose no sleep over you cancelling your subscription (which your prolly just some loser saying this to get attention like multiple others on this site).. grow the f*ck up and stop acting like alil kid

  • Jer dawg Posted: Dec.15 at 4:28 pm
    All the comments have been funny as heck. Clearly best rookie, top 5 power forward? How about somewhere top 10, but right outside of 5. He’s still inexperienced. But, only for THIS season. If Clippers actually had a better team record then I would not argue.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.15 at 4:30 pm
    ^Jer dawg..
    name me 5 power foward who are better than griffin right now

  • jtam101 Posted: Dec.15 at 4:33 pm
    ^c_cantrell
    Looks like it worked didn’t it? Got your attention.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.15 at 4:36 pm
    the only thing that got my attention was the immaturity of yet another loser on this site

  • jtam101 Posted: Dec.15 at 4:44 pm
    Coming from the guy who can’t type properly or use proper grammar? And the guy who assumes everyone else is beneath him and that his opinion is the only one that is correct? If you weren’t anonymous and this was a real life conversation, you wouldn’t have the guts to say any of that to my face. YOU, my friend, are the one who needs to grow up.

  • Jer dawg Posted: Dec.15 at 4:46 pm
    Gasol, Nowitzki, Garnett, Stoudemire, & Love.
    Some other forwards are having down years(Bosh), returning from injuries (Boozer) or past their prime (Duncan). Last year, all the aforementioned are all star players. (or former Allstar, Boozer)
    Love’s team is no good either, but only because he has more years and rebounding at such a high rate isn’t easy. I’m out in LA and root for Clippers to win, but the top 5 aren’t exactly high flying crowd pleasers, but respect due because they played more years.

  • Clyde Posted: Dec.15 at 4:48 pm
    @Tarzan Ahahaha. ” Shut the @#$& up Donnie! Your out of your element!” Great movie.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.15 at 4:51 pm
    lil buddy i would say anything to your face that i say on here lol.. and you actually care about typing properly and using proper grammer? lol what a queer.. and also i do not assume that everyone else is beneath, i have been corrected a time or two and i admit that.. i do believe my opinions is correct or i most likely wouldnt post them, (pretty good logic huh?).. but you my friend are just an attention whore who posts stupid sh*t just to get attention from others in an attempt to make your meager presence known.. so actually you, who is not my friend, have some growing up to do

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Dec.15 at 4:58 pm
    Clyde, you want a toe? I can get you a toe…….. ……… Cantrell, u gotta just leave ppl like that alone. Theres no point.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.15 at 5:00 pm
    ^Jer dawg..
    gasol, nowitzki, stoudemire, yes these are better..
    *kg? no.. right now griffin is better than kg..
    *love? no.. he is a better rebounder but thats it..put him in griffins place and he wouldnt give near as much
    *bosh.. hmm.. he is a better shooter, thats it
    *boozer.. my opinion..no
    *duncan.. no.. but only because of how his age has affected his play this year..
    so yes griffin is a top 5 pf in the nba

  • jtam101 Posted: Dec.15 at 5:00 pm
    Yes. Tell your future boss that grammar doesn’t matter. See how far that gets you in life. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you end up serving Happy Meals at McDonalds. And Hitler thought his opinion was right too, but it doesn’t mean it was.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.15 at 5:11 pm
    dude i work at a bank ok lol.. i have no worries of job security..
    ^tarzan.. your right man ppl like them are just annoying lol

  • Jer dawg Posted: Dec.15 at 5:19 pm
    For sure, I have no problems with your placing Griffin top 5. Just trying to be objective. Next year, or if Clippers can turn this ship around by end of year. I’ll hold off until then. However, Slam has already plugged Clippers in their article more times
    this year than I can ever remember. So, Blake is top 5 in trending topics.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.15 at 5:23 pm
    i guess i can work with that.. slam has talked quit a bit about the clippers i know.. and it would be much easier to make a case for the dude if he were on a better team.. but he should only continue to improve.. but ok we cool

  • Jackie Moon Posted: Dec.15 at 5:36 pm
    A what in his armor?
     
    Jest kidding.

  • Allenp Posted: Dec.15 at 5:40 pm
    I just want to say this is a great nickname for Blake. Juggernaut is a perfect.

  • Enigmatic Posted: Dec.15 at 5:49 pm
    c_cantrell you really think Griffin is better than KG? Really? Come on now. KG may have lost a step or four but he is still an outstanding player and better than Griffin in every department except athletisicm and making the highlight reels.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.15 at 5:54 pm
    ^enny..
    right now yes i would say he is better.. kg right now is not near what he was 2 years ago.. now his d is obviously still better than griffins and his midrange jumper is more reliable but other than that kg really has nothing on griffin.. jus sayin..

  • Enigmatic Posted: Dec.15 at 5:55 pm
    Blake Griffin to Tim Mozgov – “Don’t you know who I am?! I’m the Juggernaut, b*tch!!”

  • Enigmatic Posted: Dec.15 at 6:03 pm
    cantrell, you can’t really make the argument that Griffin makes more of an impact in a game than KG does though. Take KG out of the Celtics and they’re a very good team but not a championship contender, as we saw when he was out in the ’09 playoffs. And well…we see the Clips’ record with Griffin in the lineup. I know, it’s really not fair to compare a Clippers team to a Celtics team, but I guarantee the Clips would have more than 5 wins right now if KG and Griffin swapped teams. That being said, I love Griffin though. I think he’s the best rookie power forward since Tim Duncan in ’97.

  • S-Mills Posted: Dec.15 at 6:23 pm
    I’m trying not be a hater, gotta give respect where respect is do, but I just don’t feel Blake griffin like half the world seems to nowadays. I still think were all experiencing the bandwagon effect. Blake isn’t top 5 PF simply because he hasn’t proven anything. His skills may be up there but besides the highlight reels this guy hasn’t had much of an affect on the league. I don’t see him keeping his play this high consistantly but then again if he does…

  • reflex Posted: Dec.15 at 6:34 pm
    ” kg? no.. right now griffin is better than kg.” *makes mental note to disregard all future comments by c_cantrell*

  • Dacre Posted: Dec.15 at 11:00 pm
    1. Dirk Nowotzki *
    2. Amar’e Stoudemire *
    3. Kevin Love
    4. Kevin Garnett
    5. Tim Duncan
    6. Paul Millsap
    7. Carlos Boozer
    8. Lamar Odom *
    9. Blake Griffin *
    ___
    Not in any real order (other than who comes to mind readily), but this short list does highlight the PF is STACKED this season…

  • Dacre Posted: Dec.15 at 11:02 pm
    For the record I’ve been picking Dirk and Blake as my Forwards for the all-star WEST TEAM.

  • Dacre Posted: Dec.15 at 11:21 pm
    IN ORDER
    ___
    1. Dirk (Best PF in league that doesn’t need to play out of position).
    2. Amar`e (Didn’t need Nash after all).
    3. Kevin G (back to getting dub dubs and a superior record).
    4. Kevin Love (Will take the ‘Worms’ rep as the greatest ‘bounder?)
    5. Carlos Boozer (Healthy, new team and hasn’t missed a beat).
    6. Lamar Odom (Out of position? No such thing here…)
    7. Pau Gasol (read as above)
    8. Paul Millsap (40+ game against Miami.. He’s NOT on the all-star ballot…).

  • Bana Posted: Dec.16 at 12:38 am
    Gasol is the best pf hands down your all idiots

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Dec.16 at 2:56 am
    dacre, you forgot al jefferson. unless you consider him a center, which hes not.

  • hoopistani Posted: Dec.16 at 3:03 am
    shaq didn’t need anyone’s help at the free throw line. and look what it got him

  • MC Pats Posted: Dec.16 at 6:09 am
    Anybody remember Elton Brand in 99-2000? He was pretty good as a rookie. My Top 10
    1. Dirk & Amar’e (amazing scorers, really)
    3. KG
    4. Carlos Boozer
    5. Timmy
    6. Pau Gasol
    7. Kevin Love
    8. Blake Griffin
    9. Paul Millsap
    10. Elton Brand & LaMarcus Aldridge Lamar Odom doesnt really have a set position. He can play anywhere from the 1 to the 4 comfortably imo.

  • Morgan Posted: Dec.16 at 9:38 am
    Why is Boozer so high up on peoples lists?! Guy has played only a handful of games this season. No wonder people want to take the All Star vote away from fans (a la T-Mac and Iverson). And KG is getting too much love because of the Celtics record – Pau Gasol and Kevin Love statistically are having better seasons. Theres no arguement with Dirk/Amare being 1 and 2 – they are just straight balling.

  • Allenp Posted: Dec.16 at 12:02 pm
    I would rather have Paul Millsap than Boozer.

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.16 at 2:08 pm
    ^reflex..
    i dont really mind that you disregard my comments, honestly i would like that because your pretty un-intelligent.. so thank you bud

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.16 at 2:10 pm
    ^enny..
    like i said my friend the only advantage kg has on griffin is better overall defense and a more reliable jumper.. and they were to switch teams i dont honestly think kg would help the clippers to a much better record.. and griffin honestly wouldnt fit in with the celtics all too well either

  • John Lmao Posted: Dec.16 at 2:18 pm
    Love the in-n-out reference!!! yea blake griffin is a beast!

  • unrel Posted: Dec.16 at 2:22 pm
    pau gasol is the best PF in the league.. your favorite PF will probably agree..

  • unrel Posted: Dec.16 at 2:31 pm
    griffin isn’t top 5.. just looking at skill set, alone (in no order).. Pau, TD, KG, Z-Bo, Stat, Dirk, LO, Booz, Josh Smith, Bosh, LA, Milsap, D.West, yadda yadda yadda… some of the guys i mentioned i don’t even like.. but looking at strictly skill set.. they are better.. when you need a bucket.. you can go to anyone of these guys (maybe not Josh Smith).. when the clips need a bucket.. e.gordon gets the nod.. blake griffin plays bully ball right now.. when he tightens up his jumper and learns a back to the basket move or two.. he’ll jump into the conversation.. but right now.. he’s kenyon martin on roids.. and i love blake griffin..

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.16 at 2:53 pm
    of all the players you mentioned above i would take only stat, dirk, pau, and maybe bosh (and a very serious maybe) over griffin

  • unrel Posted: Dec.16 at 2:58 pm
    again.. i’m just looking at skill set.. back to the basket game.. face up game.. short jumper.. rebounding.. defense (low post and perimeter).. passing.. etc etc.. of course each player is better than another with a few.. but overall.. BG falls a bit short (outside of boards.. i think he’s a better rebounder than most of the guys i named).. but.. i feel.. his overall game.. is a few steps behind many of those i’ve mentioned.. and my k-mart comparison was a tad off base..

  • c_cantrell Posted: Dec.16 at 3:04 pm
    i agree that the others are better at certain things yes.. but overall i believe he is better still yet than most you named.. and he is alil like kmart but i wouldnt really compare the 2

  • whoooo! Posted: Dec.16 at 7:25 pm
    Griffin is a beast. but how is he supposed to ‘redefine’ the power forward position? seriously, how? maybe if Shawn Kemp never played, and Amare/Dwight Howards weren’t actually playing in the same league. The PF was ‘redefined’ during the late 90s/2000s by KG/Sheed/Webber/Duncan/Dirk.

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