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Clippers' Blake Griffin isn't earning any A's for his 'D'

The question posed to Blake Griffin was direct.

How does he rate himself as a defender?

"I don't think I'm as bad of a defender as some people try to peg me as," Griffin said.

But?

"But I know I have a lot of work to do," Griffin acknowledged. "The effort is there. I think our coaching staff knows the effort is there. I've got a lot of room to improve, like I've said."

This was a Western Conference scout's report on Griffin:

Opponents shoot a high percentage against him. He likes to follow the flight of the basketball and struggles with boxing out. He looks to block shots. He uses his athleticism to overcome weakness as a defender. But because he's such a great athlete, you would think he could be a very good defender if he wanted to.

This was a report from an Eastern Conference scout:

When Griffin "shows" on defense on the high pick and roll, he stands on the outside and watches the action unfold instead of getting back. He likes to "leak out" on the fastbreak.

An assistant coach for an East Coast team offered this assessment:

Obviously with all the raw, athletic ability that he has, the potential is there to be maybe even a great defender. Look at LeBron James, another great athlete. Early on, he wasn't a great defender, but over the past two or three years, that has changed and he takes defense a little bit more seriously. When Blake's mentality changes and he decides to play defense, then he is going to be a problem. He has to decide he's going to shut people down.

"Blake obviously has a big responsibility," Del Negro said. "But for us to get to the next level, he's got to use his athleticism and his physical ability to control the defensive end for us because he has so much versatility. But he knows that. So he's got to balance it out a little bit better."

Broderick Turner, LA Times

Vinny Del Fail wrote:"Blake obviously has a big responsibility," Del Negro said. "But for us to get to the next level, he's got to use his athleticism and his physical ability to control the defensive end for us because he has so much versatility. But he knows that. So he's got to balance it out a little bit better."

jflipclip wrote:Better coaching won't solve Blake's defensive problem.

jflipclip wrote:Better coaching won't solve Blake's defensive problem.

Back to the subject on Blake...

Yeah, he's pretty bad (average or below average) at defense. His footwork looks off. He has the tools (except maybe length/wingspan) to be a better defender, just needs to improve spacing, footwork, etc. Jordan too. Jordan is a good shot blocker but that doesn't make you a good defender, especially when you attempt a block at every pump fake/shot.

It's sad to think that if Griffin doesn't improve on these weak points (FT shooting, a mid-range jumper, defense), that we can predict his ceiling (Stoudemire w/o a jumpshot, Kenyon Martin).

TheNewEra wrote:Imagine blake at Lebron level defense wow