Sunday, November 21, 2010

Blake Griffin: A memorable night and ridiculous dunks

Since being drafted as the first pick of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2009, Blake Griffin has been the centerpiece of the hopes and dreams of the small sect of clipper fans in the Los Angeles Area. Although, he missed his rookie season due to a cracked knee cap, which drew echoes of previous so-called Clipper saviors who were taken down by terrible injuries. (See: Shaun Livingston and the horrifying knee injury). So far, Blake Griffin has been a revelation and a sight to behold.

Last night, Blake Griffin scored 44 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. In addition, he was 16-23 from the charity stripe along with highlights that sent the listless Clipper fans buzzing with oohs and aahs. His jumping ability is off the charts bringing some comparisons to a young Shawn Kemp when he was not ballooning to 300 pounds. As you can see here where he victimizes an unfortunate Golden State Warrior big man in the early 1990s :



Now, compare that to Blake Griffin as in one dunk he just flies over and throws the ball into the basket over Timofey Mosgov in the Third Quarter. It led to a three point play on a pretty pass by Eric Gordon. Even watching it nearly five times, I am still in absolute shock at how high he jumped over the seven foot Russian center. He's still a rookie and if he learns some post moves to go along with his improving jumper, Griffin will become a force where defenders will have pray to God and kiss their butt goodbye.



Late in the fourth quarter, Griffin received a pass from DeAndre Jordan on a block shot and dribbled it across the court. As you will see, he does a very good NBA Jam impersonation over Danillo Gallinari for a breathless dunk. It sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy and pulled the Clippers to within five. Alas, the Clippers lost 124-115 and are now 1-12. Although, it was certainly a night to remember if you were at that game or watching it.