Comments on: The Extra Pass: Blake Griffin’s Undeserved Reputation

By: justaride88

justaride88 — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:02:29 +0000

Dunking IS an inefficient way of scoring. You just don’t see guys who’s game is built around mostly their athlethicism, to produce in play offs when the game is on the line. Blake can’t score alley-up dunks whith 3 minutes to go in 4th quater, because defence is set.

I think the problem with Blake is that he WAS overrated when he just entered the pro’s, many peaople really expected him to become one of the greatest PF’s of all time. And I did to, I was amazed of he’s athlethic ability, but an eye opener for me was Charles Barkley who said that Griffin is overrated. And when you remember how Barkley him self played in he’s day, than it becomes obvious of how many assets Blakes game is still missing to reach that mark.

I think we might have here another Vince Carter.

By: savvybynature

savvybynature — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 02:28:20 +0000

First, it’s not uncommon for players to have too much praise heaped on them too early, a la Bryce Harper this past season in MLB. Fans and the media are understandably enthralled with athleticism and potential, and have little patience to wait for guys to develop. If the result is a few undeserved all-star nods, slam dunk competition awards and millions in endorsements, then a little extra scrutiny down the line isn’t a bad trade off.
Second, Griffin has undoubtedly made serious strides in his game so far this season and by all accounts works hard at his craft. I am pretty confident that in two or three seasons, if he keeps working at it and stays healthy, he will grow into the “superstar” status that was hoisted on him prematurely. But, don’t expect surprise when the pendulum swings back the other way and people finally notice that he is an incomplete player. I’m still not even sure he gets that much scrutiny, especially when he gets all-star votes well ahead of more deserving players like Tim Duncan.
Last, this article didn’t address his defense, which is still lacking imo. This isn’t me ripping him, or being a hater, it’s just an observation. He is still very young and has plenty of room to improve.
Bottom line is, if you get the perks from being labeled a superstar, I don’t see why you shouldn’t get the extra scrutiny that comes with it as well. Yeah maybe some of those criticisms are behind the times in terms of the evolution of his game, but perception always lags behind reality right? After all, there is something to be said for sample size so it wouldn’t be prudent to alter perceptions too quickly.
Great article btw, you are my favorite pbt writer by far so keep ‘em coming!

By: dannymac17

dannymac17 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 02:25:31 +0000

you were dropped on your head. its clear as day.

By: dannymac17

dannymac17 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 02:24:43 +0000

thanks for the link, that was rather informative.

By: dannymac17

dannymac17 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 01:24:04 +0000

Im actually white. You are a vagina.

By: dannymac17

dannymac17 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 00:55:11 +0000

Dude do you live in the LA area? I do, lets go grab some coffee and then maybe head into an alley way so I can rearrange your damn teeth. All you do is cry in Lakers threads about the haters, but here you are showing your ugly troll face yet again.

You are a clown, an insignificant little girl.

Go somewhere else.

By: spthegr8

spthegr8 — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:34:13 +0000

That stat about his mid-range being converted @ a higher % then Wade, Pierce, Gay & Deng is QUITE amusing??? If he want’s too shoot that 16 ft jumper ALL NIGHT LONG………..Be my guest. If he make’s it, I’ll shake his hand. It’s called “playing the odd’s”!!!!! I don’t care WHAT % he shoot’s from there!!! JUST SAYING!!!!!

By: lmoneyfresh

lmoneyfresh — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:54:28 +0000

You’re definitely right Male, that perception tends to outweigh reality in these cases, but it’s nothing new. It’s a catch-22 with many of these athletes who shoot to stardom so quickly. Increased stardom = increased scrutiny, many times unfairly. If he just keeps playing and acting like he has, he’ll be fine in the long run though. To his credit, he doesn’t really put his foot in his mouth like Lebron was for a while, so that’s a plus. And hell, his Kia commercials are pretty damn funny. The football one is great.

By: mat9844

mat9844 — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:58:38 +0000

Thanks for the great article. You said it better than I ever could. I’ve been a fan of BG since Oklahoma days. His best years are ahead of him.

By: chilomane

chilomane — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:56:22 +0000

He flops and being as strong as he is its hard to watch.

By: Distinguished Male

Distinguished Male — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:32:58 +0000

Isn’t that perception and confirmation bias what this article was about though? That Griffin has just been labeled as “one of those guys” that people enjoy disliking?

You say it will take a couple of years for the label of “whiner/flopper” to go away. Well, how long did it take for that to stick, 6 months? Why is there such a difference there?

Can definitely see this going the Lebron route. Where a player is so athletically gifted, that short of triple doubles or 5×5 every single night, people find mud to sling their direction.

By: brokenyellowlines

brokenyellowlines — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:17:48 +0000

“It’s a game Griffin can’t win.”

Very true. We as fans often will just look for evidence that confirms our biases.

Great measured analysis of Griffin’s game. As far as Griffin’s demeanor goes, speaking anecdotally, I’d say he has significantly curbed the whining, flopping, and stare-downs.

As far as his overall persona, it’s nice to see a star show some self-awareness (“Practice your free-throws… a lot.”) and be able to address some of the criticism directly and winsomely. Kevin Draper over at The Diss wrote a nice piece on the evolution of his image: http://thedissnba.com/2012/12/24/monday-media-the-evolution-of-blake-griffins-image/

By: surfoside4life

surfoside4life — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:35:16 +0000

lob city!! F haters

By: paleihe

paleihe — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:34:40 +0000

It’s his third year playing professional basketball. His shot will get better, as it already has, and his free throwing shooting is becoming more consistent.

All in all, it’s too early in his career to say he’s not yet reached his potential.

By: lmoneyfresh

lmoneyfresh — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:14:48 +0000

And abchome, he may very well be whining less this year, I admit I haven’t seen many clippers games this season. Truth is though, it’ll probably take a few years before that gets noticed and people can get that out of their head when it comes to their perception of Griffin.

By: probert1025

probert1025 — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:55:02 +0000

Why is it that he is falling short of his potential? Lets remember when he was coming into the league he was raw offensively
He was known as an amazing rebounder and a player who worked hard. We can’t say that he has fallen short when he averaged 20 & 10 his first two seasons joining Kareem which is historic. Not many players at his position come in and dominate within three years. He has a lot of work to do but he is improving and he works his butt off he will be great because he won’t allow anything else

By: lmoneyfresh

lmoneyfresh — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:36:07 +0000

I have to agree here. I loved watching Griffin when he came into the leauge, he played an exciting brand of ball. But when a guy plays as physical as Griffin does and then complains constantly for calls, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So much talent, but such an obnoxious attitude.

I give him credit for working on his outside game, but with his talent he should be dominant and he’s just not quite there. Now, he’s still relatively new to the league, so who knows, he might end up great. In my eyes though, he’s still falling short of his potential and it just seems he needs to learn that playing good basketball is more about just flash.

By: abchome

abchome — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:33:32 +0000

Blake Griffin barely complains calls this year. Certainly he’s not a better shooter than Paul Pierce, he just happens to shoot mid range jumpers at a connection rate no worse than the league average, and higher than some known shooters.

Yet I don’t think he cares others’ perception at all. He’s already a super star, financially secured, and playing for one of the best teams.

By: laughsatyou

laughsatyou — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:45:16 +0000

I think the article is missing the point of the criticism . People want to cut him down because of the way he acts not plays . Nobody likes someone who whines and complains every single call . It really makes him look like a big child . Blake is a ridiculous athlete and getting better at other parts of his game . If he stopped whining and flopping maybe more people would like him . Hes got the body to be a great defender and he shouldn’t just fall on the floor at contact . Also saying he is a better shooter than paul pierce is just stupid i don’t care what the stats of half of this year may say.