Blake Griffin ESPN Q&A 9/14

Post #1 » by **mkwest** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 7:44 am

Q&A: Blake Griffin impressed by OU's talent

On signing his second contract (Griffin recently inked a five-year extension): It’s nice, it’s nice to reach that point in your career. For me it’s still about business, still about trying to get better and become a better basketball player and better teammate. This summer our team has made significant improvements, significant strides as a program, changing the culture of our program.

On the Clippers improvement this summer: With a guy like Lamar, he’s extremely versatile, can stretch the floor, he can pass, he can dribble, he can do everything. He gives us another threat. Grant Hill has been an unbelievable player for as long as I can remember. His veteran leadership and minutes are going to be huge for us. Jamal Crawford, coming off the bench, is going to give us instant offense, he kind of feels the void of Mo Williams when he left. I’m very excited about where our team is at, we have a good balance of veterans and young guys.

On the Clippers becoming a factor in LA: It’s great. Changing the culture of a program is something that I talked about when I was here, it’s something I talked with Coach Capel about, and to be a part of the team I was a part of my sophomore year was unbelievable and it’s one of the best feelings, and I told people that. To see us kind of turn the corner as a franchise in LA, not because of the Lakers but because of the perceptions the Clippers had, to now be seen as more of a competitor is great.

On opponents taking cheap shots at him: After a certain point you get fed up with it but you have to understand why it’s happening. For me, it’s about continuing to develop as a player offensively so I don’t even have to put myself in those situations. And now we have such a well balanced team it’s going to be tough to hone in on one guy. I’ve put in a lot of work this summer to be prepared for that. Hopefully that defuses it.

Brandon Chatmon, ESPN

Quake Griffin · Post #2 » by **Quake Griffin** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 5:14 pm

good interview.

didn't hear jumper and defense though...or a variation of both.
that's all i wanna hear.

still love quake though.

Post #3 » by **tsherkin** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:17 pm

He did say "it's about continuing to develop as a player offensively so I don't even have to put myself in those situations."

That basically means "going middle for the hook more often and developing a jumper" in my mind, because those are the only ways he's not going to be assaulting the rim from the air and making himself vulnerable to cheap shots.

Neddy · Post #4 » by **Neddy** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:18 pm

tsherkin wrote:He did say "it's about continuing to develop as a player offensively so I don't even have to put myself in those situations."

That basically means "going middle for the hook more often and developing a jumper" in my mind, because those are the only ways he's not going to be assaulting the rim from the air and making himself vulnerable to cheap shots.

what i've read in between the lines is "make free throws" but yours works too.