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“What stood out to me was his work ethic,” said Rivers. “He’s a worker and he’s a professional at it.”

“He understands he’s a basketball player,” Rivers said. “I think a lot of young guys, I’ve had it, [will say], ‘Coach, I can’t come today. I’ve got to do a commercial.’ And Blake won’t do that. He’ll say we’re going to move this commercial back. I’m doing my work out first. I think he completely understands who he is and what he does.

“From afar, I would think he never practices. He does all these commercials, he probably doesn’t have time. But he’s been the exact opposite.”

Rivers envisions Griffin as a devastating face-up player offensively and a potentially elite defender. That message was made clear from the onset.

“I sat in his office and we talked about how he thought I could be much, much better defensively, especially defensively in transition,” Griffin said. “And I completely agree. That’s going to be kind of a focus for me, putting in that time and that effort to relearning our defensive schemes, language, and really putting in the effort every day, every single day at practice where in games it carries over.”

Griffin’s offseason workouts have included plenty of time working on defense on the court, playing pickup games and studying. He’s also taken hundreds of shots a day from spots on the floor Rivers expects him to operate.

“I like the idea [of facing the basket more],” Griffin said. “I also like the offense to be moving or open with a little bit more room to operate. I’m really looking forward to it because that’s what I’ve been working on all summer. I feel like this summer’s really been big for me because I’ve really known exactly what to work on and why I’m working on it.”

Eric Patten, Clippers.com