[Written 2 days ago...]
I was originally going to write about something else today, but remember when I did my “man crushes” post several weeks ago? Well, team success hasn’t exactly followed LaRon Landry and Blake Griffin, and although Landry was personally playing at a defensive POY level, he hasn’t played in a few weeks and is now on season ending injured reserve. While the Clips haven’t exactly been tearing it up (for the better part of the season they had the NBA’s worst record), they have suddenly started to show improvement. They have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s better than going 4-16, which is what they were at one time. So, while they might not win 45 or 50 games this year like I once predicted, they are no longer in the Pacific division basement, and they have only the 4th worst record in the whole league as of right now…baby steps, baby steps.
Griffin has been a monster though. In the words of Joakim Noah, “He’s a problem.” He’s currently averaging 21 points and 12 rebounds per game for the year, which would put him in historic company for a rookie. Also, for a rook he’s been remarkably consistent, as he posted his 17th consecutive double-double last night (his 23rd in 30 games this year). Those numbers are impressive, but he’s been even better of late. His last five game split looks like this: 24 ppg, 15 rpg, 4 apg, while shooting 53% from the field. Add to that the fact that he’s worth at least 1 or 2 oh my damn, did you just see that plays every night. Case in point, last night when he threw down a one-handed lefty oop where at his highest point he’s just about eye level with the rim.
At this point, I feel like I could just post a “B-Griff highlight of the night” the day after every Clippers game. Even though their record is still terrible, I’ve come to three realizations. 1st, Clippers highlights/games are now appointment viewing for me. On most days I put on Sportscenter before I leave for work in the morning, and if I don’t get a chance to see the Clips recap (usually in a losing effort still at this point) it’s the first thing I check for online once I get to my desk at work. 2nd, since the Wizards can never seem to get it together, I’m pretty close to adopting the Clippers as my other favorite team. Along with Griffin, Eric Gordon is a fun player to watch. If they can remove some of the dead weight on the team and acquire a couple more good young players, they might have something there (although when your owner is Donald Sterling that might be asking too much). It would also be really cool if they uprooted the Lakers, who I loathe (as anyone who knows me knows). 3rd, I haven’t bought a jersey in probably 5 years. I have never really been a jersey guy to begin with, and I soured on them even more due to the fact that seemingly every time I got one that guy would immediately get hurt or traded…but I would at least entertain the thought of rocking a Griffin jersey…maybe.
Merry Christmas, everybody.
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