Be honest - More important to the team: Griffin or Gordon?

[Leor_77]

I think that if you asked this question while we were on our hot streak, most people would say Blake, even though some still might have said EJ. Now, I think it's a more interesting question. You have to wonder if Blake was injured and EJ was not, would we still have been so bad on our road trip? Maybe...But it's pretty obvious how much we miss EJ - He is able to take over games much like Foye has done occasionally this year, however he does it more consistently, hence the large amounts of 4th quarter points for him. No matter how good Blake is offensively, there's no question that EJ has more of an impact than him defensively. We all know from tracking various other superstars careers that BG will grow and become a better player in the future, but this question is for right now. Curious to see your answers.

[madmaxmedia]

As Charles Barkley said, "He is spectacular. Ya know the thing that’s scary? He don’t even know how to play yet…"

As to who is more important right now? Blake because he is playing. I don't know, they are equally important because they really form the top-2 tandem for us with Baron as 3rd wheel (in a good way.)

If you take away Blake right now, what kind of inside presence do we have without even Kaman? So just maybe I actually tilt towards Blake, but I mainly stand by my answer that right now they are equally important.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I do think about this at times, I think that they are both important. Gordon and Griffin complement each other very well. Gordon has the outside covered and Griffin has the inside. Gordon's perimeter defense is really important, if things break down Griffin and Jordan are there to clean things up. I think to have Gordon and Griffin playing at their best they need each other. If one of them is out I don't think the other will play as well.

[mkwest]

They're almost equally important. Gordon gets lost in the hype of Blake by outside fans 9 times out of 10. Clipper fans know what Gordon is capable of, but still may have overlooked him a little themselves thanks to Blake. The fact is that EJ does everything that we could possibly want him to do. He is the team's most complete player.

He's the team's highest scorer, gets to the foul line, can penetrate to the basket, can knock down the perimeter shot, has improved his mid-range game, plays great perimeter defense, is the team's best closer, opens the game up for Blake and everyone else to operate and sets his teammates up.

It is expected to see the team struggle with him unavailable to provide everything that he does. The team still had problems with him on the court, but he was usually able to bail them out. There are no bail-outs at the moment. Blake has always done most of his damage in the 1st quarter. EJ did more of his at the end of the game. At a few points during the season, Gordon led the league in 4th quarter scoring with high percentages.

You need both.

[Sofia]

If it ever came to one or the other, it'd be a horrible decision to have to make.

[Det the Threat]

They're almost equally important. Gordon gets lost in the hype of Blake by outside fans 9 times out of 10. Clipper fans know what Gordon is capable of, but still may have overlooked him a little themselves thanks to Blake. The fact is that EJ does everything that we could possibly want him to do. He is the team's most complete player.

He's the team's highest scorer, gets to the foul line, can penetrate to the basket, can knock down the perimeter shot, has improved his mid-range game, plays great perimeter defense, is the team's best closer, opens the game up for Blake and everyone else to operate and sets his teammates up.

It is expected to see the team struggle with him unavailable to provide everything that he does. The team still had problems with him on the court, but he was usually able to bail them out. There are no bail-outs at the moment. Blake has always done most of his damage in the 1st quarter. EJ did more of his at the end of the game. At a few points during the season, Gordon led the league in 4th quarter scoring with high percentages.

You need both.

+1

Those two guys are our cornerstones and we should lock them up longterm within the next two offseasons.

And like you've mentioned, we need both guys together on the court to be successfull, cause if you take out one of them the other teams defense can concentrate on the remaining guy and make the other Clippers beat them, which happens about once every five games or so, if we're lucky.

[Recently]

Saying both, while true is not really answering the question.

If we're in a situation and could only have one (say hypothetically both are hanging on to the edge of a cliff, and you only have time to pull one up) I would choose Blake. Guards are generally easier to replace imo, while quality bigs are harder to come by.

[mkwest]

Saying both, while true is not really answering the question.

If we're in a situation and could only have one (say hypothetically both are hanging on to the edge of a cliff, and you only have time to pull one up) I would choose Blake. Guards are generally easier to replace imo, while quality bigs are harder to come by.

I said both, but I thought my explanation made a strong case for Gordon.

I would say for Gordon is tangibly the most important for the team. Intangibly, it is Blake.

For example, Deron Williams said that he would consider coming to the Clippers when he's a free-agent. I know he's been impressed with Gordon, but I would say that us having a player like Blake is a large part of the reason. He has a presence is that draws people in and the right mentality to keep himself in check. He's got kids standing outside in the snow at 2 in the morning trying to get autographs.

As far as replacing a Guard like EJ goes...The guy is a top 10 scorer that can play top notch defense at the age of 22. You're not going to get that combination anywhere else in the league. The only true comparables in the league right now are either pushing 30 or are already over that point. At the same time, Blake's production can be duplicated, but the intensity, influence, star quality and the effect he has on his teammates, opposing teams and officials is hard to come by. I truly believe that he'll eventually become both a leader by example and vocally, whereas Gordon is probably more restricted to by example only.

[TheNewEra]

We need a third scorer badly someone to provide a needed edge at SF so we don't lose our balance.

[illastrate]

I'd still go with BG, but EJ is close. They both need each other to succeed.

[corgiBear8]

In my opinion, it is not even close. Blake by a landslide.