Blake Griffin, whose slow start to the season was a concern, finally appears to have rounded back into form, and he was just named the Western Conference Player of the Week for his efforts. Since LAC's disappointing loss at home against the shorthanded Bulls back on November 17th, Griffin has started to look like a legit MVP candidate. During the roadie, No. 32 averaged nearly 22 points, 7.7 rebounds and four assists per game. He had seven assists in the win over the Pistons and nine against the Hornets, as well. We obviously hear about Blake's highlight-making ability, but he's also a tremendous passer.
L.A. was the NBA's top offense last season in terms of efficiency (scoring 109.4 points per 100 possessions), and after a mediocre start, are all the way up to No. 3 this year (108.8 per 100). Some of this has to do with players just knocking down shots they were previously missing, while some of it has to do with the way the Clippers have been doing work in the transition game.
Naturally, the Clippers' defense has improved as the year has gone on, as well, and that helps the flow of the offense. The Clips thrive in transition offense, and forcing misses on one end makes it easier for them to get out and attack opponents on-the-run. We know that Griffin and DeAndre Jordan run the floor as well as any bigs in the league, and Griffin has always had a knack for knowing where to be. Not a lot of power forwards in the league have the ability to handle the ball and initiate the fast break, but Blake absolutely can, and the Clippers are incredibly dangerous when he's doing so. Paul is a master at identifying mismatches, while Griffin has also shown excellent decision-making when he's the one with the ball out front.
Let's use the recent win in Detroit as an example. Here, you'll see, Griffin rebounds a miss from a D.J. Augustin three attempt and starts the break himself. The rest of the Clippers (most notably DeAndre) are quick to get out on the break as Jordan's man, Andre Drummond, is slow to get back.
Jordan's run down the heart of the floor forces Griffin's man, Greg Monroe, to either decide to stop Griffin and the ball, or cut-off Jordan's path to the rim. Monroe (properly) concludes it's more important to stop Griffin from an uncontested hurtle toward the rim, but Drummond is way too late in catching up to D.J. Meanwhile, the Piston wings, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Josh Smith, don't rotate off of J.J. Redick or Reggie Bullock. Augustin (for some reason) decides he'd better quickly get a body on Chris Paul, who is about 60 feet from the rim at this point. Griffin identifies this immediately and wastes no time in finding D.J. for the easy jam.
On the very next play, Jordan rebounds a miss from Drummond inside and once again the Clippers are off to the races. Detroit is better this time about getting back on defense, but Griffin is able to establish very early and very deep position in the paint against Monroe. Drummond, the Pistons' primary rim protector, can't get back in time to help wall-off the rim, leaving Monroe on an island against Blake right under the basket. CP3, the crafty mismatch identifier that he is, sees this and gets the ball to Griffin almost immediately upon crossing halfcourt.
Blake receives the pass from Paul and quickly goes to work, finishing with an easy little right-handed shot over Monroe from a foot away.
A lot of L.A.'s early season struggles can also be attributed to the general ineffectiveness of the club's "shooters" to hit their open looks. Reggie Bullock drew the start in the Pistons game as Matt Barnes was out with an injury. Barnes has been in a horrendous shooting slump all year, and while Bullock wound up hitting just one of his three-point attempts in this one, he's typically a capable floor-spacer.
Here's another play coming off of a Pistons miss. The Clippers decide against trying to force the ball down the floor this time around, instead going into a half-court set. Paul gets a screen on either side from both Griffin and Jordan while the wings (Bullock and Redick) set-up in opposite corners. CP3 decides to use Griffin's screen and go to his left. Jordan then runs straight to the rim as Paul bounces a pass to Griffin, standing open right at the top of the key. Griffin's man, Monroe, is late getting through the screen.
Because Monroe is late getting to Griffin, Jordan's man, Drummond has to come out and attempt to contest a potential Griffin jumper from the elbow, because he's proven he can knock that down. Bullock's man, Smith, rotates over to Jordan under the rim, which leaves Bullock without a Piston within 15 feet of him in the left corner.
Griffin recognizes that Bullock is wide open in the corner, wisely whips a perfect pass right into his chest, and the Pistons can't recover before Bullock drills his only three-ball of the evening.
One more play from this game. Off a Redick steal, J.J. quickly gets the ball to Griffin in the middle of the floor and, once again, the Clips are out on the break. Point Griffin has a two-on-two with Bullock against Caldwell-Pope and Smith. Blake is practically telling Smith that he has every intention of dumping this ball off to Bullock speeding down the right flank, and Smith is still too oblivious to stop it from happening.
Blake is no liar, and he does exactly what he said he would as he tucks a bouncer under both Smith and KCP to Bullock. KCP winds up having to foul to prevent the easy lay-in, and Bullock hit the freebies.
Griffin was at the heart of all four of these plays and impacted things in different ways. He was Point Griffin for a couple, the assister off a high screen and the scorer on a play in which he found an early advantage and converted. It's clear that the Clippers are going to try and run off of every forced miss, as they should. With the personnel they have, there are very few teams in the league that can keep up with them on the run.
The Pistons aren't the most disciplined of defensive teams, but you can see the advantage L.A. has in the open court, regardless. It's a nightmare to defend, and the Clippers have been smart about pushing the pace and forcing opposing defenses to pick their poison. When LAC is making crisp passes and executing properly, they're a bear.
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