jamaalstar21 wrote:TheBrooklynKidd wrote:jamaalstar21 wrote:
"I don't think you realize how bad" Griffin has been this year.
I think I've seen every minute of Roberson and Shumpert this year so far... all 83 of them! While I'll admit to MKG's poor play, I have no idea what you mean about RHJ. He was excellent for the Raps last year whenever he was in the rotation. Did you watch him play before you called me out for not watching him play?
I'm not going to hate on Blake anymore here. I like the guy and hope he recovers in Brooklyn. I assume you've watched him play a bit this year and know how limited he is currently by health. I would be very surprised (in a pleasant way) if Blake was used heavily in the rotation in the playoffs if Brooklyn is otherwise healthy. His health this year, in Detroit, made him unable to bang much in the paint. He's not going to be able to do "big" stuff unless his health improves. He mostly shot threes in Detroit, and hardly put up "stretch big numbers" at 31% from 3. However, that could change in Brooklyn if he ends up playing next to multiple starters. There's not much reason to be worried about him on offense though, since Brooklyn's offense is going to be awesome no matter what. I would be worried (if Blake is going to be in the rotation in Brooklyn) about adding another defensive liability to a defense already ranked 26th in the league.
At the end of the day, Blake doesn't stop Brooklyn from adding another vet for the minimum. No downside to this move for them. I hope Blake's health improves in Brooklyn and that he's able to be a contributor in the playoffs. He's had such brutal injury luck for most of his career, it would be great to see him get to add a healthy chapter near the end. He's developed his skillset tremendously and it's a shame he never got to combine this skill set with his peak athleticism.
I did watch RHJ last year. He was good defensively but completely gummed up the Raptors offense to the point where he cancelled out anything he did on the defensive end. That’s why you had to say “when he was in the rotation.” Shumpert, Roberson and MKG are probably looking for apartments in China as we speak.
I’ll worry about the defensive rating when another team proves they can consistently hold Brooklyn to a comparatively lower offensive rating. I actually think Blake will help defensively. This team is horrifically undersized as currently constructed.
No one expects him to be prime athlete Blake Griffin. All he has to do to crack the rotation is be better than TLC and Tyler Johnson. I think that’s well within the realm of reasonable outcomes.
Look at what happened to Batum once he had open shots and something to play for. Blake will likely perform better next to better players and like you said there’s no downside.
I'm fine with the optimism but I don't understand the details of yours or many Brooklyn fans.
Why would Blake help defensively? Why do you think he upgrades Brooklyn from a size perspective? Yes I know he's taller than Bruce Brown, but without the ability to move or jump, I'm not sure how he helps you with size. Blake pretty much played shooting guard in Detroit's offense, and on defense they had to hide him. At his peak, Blake was a bad defender, but he could hustle and bang in the paint. At his current status of health, Blake is a non-defender. He can't bang, rebound (he has the rebounding rate of a guard), block shots (he's blocked 2 shots all year) or move laterally. What are you imagining he brings on defense, or as a "big"?
I don't get the Batum comparison. Batum had a couple years of weird injuries (broken finger that later hyper extended, elbow injury, illness that lasted a while and made him lose a lot of weight, eye injury, weird migraines). He had a rough couple years but didn't sustain any injuries that are supposed to affect him long term. Not saying it was guaranteed that Batum was awesome in LA this year, as it's been a few years since he's been a productive NBA player. But there was nothing physically wrong with him in the long term. Blake on the other hand has had multiple arthroscopic surgeries on his left knee. He's injured his left knee and hamstring 6(?) different times since 2017.
Idk maybe because he’s 6,9”.
