Griffin: "I know I have a lot of work to do [on defense]"

[mkwest]

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

[TheNewEra]

Imagine blake at Lebron level defense wow

[LOJ]

"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."

The only way we move to the next level is you being replaced by something that resembles competent coaching.

[jflipclip]

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).

[LOJ]

Better coaching won't solve Blake's defensive problem.

But it would help him not get exposed all the time by us having better defensive schemes.

[og15]

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).

I disagree about better coaching not solving his problems, though I think what you mean is that just inserting a better coach and nothing else won't improve his defense, which is true. A better coach is going to teach him, show him where he's off on defense, then show him what he needs to do, and hold him accountable as a defender, so yes, a better coach will make him better on defense.

How can Carlos Boozer be part of one of the leagues top defensive teams? Well that is because not only could a better coach teach you defense, but they can put you in a position to succeed on defense. VDN is capable of neither. It was interesting to read the report saying that Blake goes for a lot of blocks though, cause he doesn't, but does on smaller guys.

Imagine blake at Lebron level defense wow

The funny thing about this is that at times, Blake actually looks pretty good defensively on the perimeter. His man to man defense both in the post and generally on isolations outside the post are good, he needs to work on staying down on fakes and not fouling against guards in isolation when switched, though he's not as bad as DJ, and the vet K-Mart.

The main areas of his defense that are poor are rotational and team defense issues. Scott Skiles and the Milwaukee staff did a great job with Bogut in regards to that, though obviously Bogut has some inherent advantages. A coach that has a similar capability can not only teach him, but also DJ. I'll keep re-iterating it, Blake (along with other second year players) had little team training and minimal training camp. Defensive rotations is something you learn through watching film and then going out on the court and drilling defensive elements on your areas of deficiency through 3v3, 5v5, and other things. It isn't something a player is going to go out in summer by himself and learn, so if one was expecting Blake to come into the season and have taught himself these things, one should also expect him to be capable of being the teams defensive coach.

He's in the below average to average level, he's definitely not terrible, and definitely not the worst defensive player on the team (partly also because he rebounds well).