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Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era

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Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#1 » by Quake Griffin » Sun Aug 4, 2019 4:58 am

https://youtu.be/6p24wzloRaU

Odd timing for this one.
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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#2 » by Akklaim1 » Sun Aug 4, 2019 6:30 am

They most certainly did. I understand the players' thirst for a championship so anything short of that was a disappointment. But for fans, consecutive years of winning 50+ games, making the playoffs, dominating the Lakers head-to-head were just things that Clippers fans could only dream of. Those might look like small accomplishments for players but for fans, it meant a lot. It was a feeling of being finally relevant. We became a FA destination. We became hated instead of ignored.

The Lob City era was the root of the Clippers' post Sterling era (I know the first 3 years were still under Sterling but you get the point).
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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#3 » by BigRedDog » Sun Aug 4, 2019 6:58 am

i mean they took a laughingstock of a franchise and then took out the spurs for gods sake and won 50 games in a row for 4 straight years.... this "championship or bust" thign is starting to get really old & annoying... if i hear one more person say "harden will never win anything"

what are you talking about he won MVP... he neaarly beat the "Greatest team of all-time" if cp3 doesnt get hurt....

the rings argument is dumb and has always been dumb and its worse for players to use it than fans... they of all people should understand how hard it is to make it to the 2nd round of nba playofffs
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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#4 » by esqtvd » Sun Aug 4, 2019 8:05 am

what Blake and the rest probably regret--and should regret--is they didn't give their all

they didn't work out their selfishness and personality conflicts and I think there was probably too much partying by some

Now Blake is dead-ended in Detroit, everybody hates Chris, DJ is playing for $10M a year, and JJ will probably never sniff the playoffs again

all gone now


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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#5 » by Roscoe Sheed » Sun Aug 4, 2019 8:24 pm

I’m surprised he said that- he sounds kinda depressed recently- these comments and him saying he struck out recruiting free agents.

On a side note, I think Redick will see the playoffs again if not on the pelicans then another team via trade- his contract and skills are still appealing
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Griffin was Part of the Problem in Lob City 

Post#6 » by Ranma » Mon Aug 5, 2019 2:35 am

It's been no secret that Chris Paul and Blake Griffin didn't get along with each other no matter how hard the organization tried to have the two on the same page. CP3BGTV died a quick death while it was quite noticeable to see Paul share the spotlight in his State Farm commercials with DeAndre Jordan and Harden after he quickly joined Houston.

A lot of people will point the finger to CP3's demanding ways as the main culprit, but at least he showed he wanted to win. Griffin and DJ were noted as being cool with winning while CP3 needed to win. To be honest, Griffin--like DJ--were more concerned about being recognized and respected than winning. Obviously, Griffin put in the work to be a physical specimen and tried various outside-of-the-box activities toward enhancing his skills, but he was always a step behind in adapting his game to what his team needed him to be in order for it to win.

Sure, he talks a good game and even goes through the motions of wanting to be a great player, but like Carmelo Anthony, he doesn't seem to get the self-sacrifices necessary for the collective to benefit. Griffin certainly wanted to be an all-around player but his inefficient 3-point shooting had him moving too far toward the finesse when we needed his rugged play rather than deferring to his good buddy DJ in the rebounding department in order to pad his stats.

Griffin also fancied himself as a playmaker and while his ball-handling was quite impressive, his court vision and facilitating were lacking outside of his connections with DJ. It even seemed like he was fighting with the more efficient and reliable Point God for ball-handling duties. Yes, CP3 was at fault for slowing the tempo of the game to suit his own style when it was more beneficial to run more often with DJ and Griffin filling the lanes out in the open court, but for the most part, the Clippers benefited more with the ball in his hands instead of Blake's.

I still remember DJ and Griffin snubbing an invitation from Hakeem Olajuwon to work on their respective footwork, which is still unfathomable to me but I guess they were more content on working on their game and physiques on their own terms. Maybe that was exactly the problem. They both thought they accomplished more than they had.

Looking back, I find it laughable that Griffin tried to connect with the team during that trip to Hawaii after re-signing for the max, especially when Paul stated that he tried to get teammates to hang out with one another on a regular basis to establish camaraderie when they (Griffin included) were unwilling or reluctant to do so. Now Griffin is saying he's trying to recruit other players--Jeff Green, of all people--to join him in Detroit.

Let's also not forget that his baby mama testified she had to console him after he broke up with Kendall Jenner upon being traded out of Los Angeles. For as much as Doc liked to talk about how committed Griffin was in prioritizing his basketball responsibilities over his Hollywood ones, it sure seemed like BG was more preoccupied with being a celebrity than winning basketball player. Then again, Doc compared DJ to Bill Russell and thought he was a competent GM, so there's that.

Again, this all points to how sad that he was ill suited for the role of a franchise player. I certainly appreciated his efforts but they were always misguided even from the beginning. Yeah, the Clippers didn't accomplish anything during the Lob City years outside of entertainment, but that should be of little surprise in hindsight given Griffin's contributions and priorities.



Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times (8/4/19)
In contrast, injuries, the rise of Golden State and, at times, infighting kept Rivers’ Lob City-era Clippers from reaching their potential. Orlando had three first-round playoff exits and a 21-win season to show for Hill and McGrady’s four seasons together. A recurring ankle injury forced Hill to effectively miss two of those seasons. Rivers was fired during the pair’s fourth and final year together.

“The experience in Orlando made me appreciate the Boston thing more,” Rivers said. “It taught me how hard it is to frickin’ win. It’s hard to win. You need a lot of things to go your way.”

Doc Rivers’ Magic Lessons Taught Him How to Deal with Superstar Players


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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#7 » by esqtvd » Mon Aug 5, 2019 3:36 am

Roscoe Sheed wrote:I’m surprised he said that- he sounds kinda depressed recently- these comments and him saying he struck out recruiting free agents.

On a side note, I think Redick will see the playoffs again if not on the pelicans then another team via trade- his contract and skills are still appealing


Well, you know what I mean. The Pels are not contenders and if JJ gets traded to a playoff team, he's gonna be an add-on.

NBA-TV had the Clippers-Blazers 2016 Game 6 on yesterday, and the Jamal-Austin-DJ-Jeff Green skeleton crew gave them hell. JJ came in at the end and stunk up the joint on D. He's a first-half killer in the regular season, but that's it.


The larger point being that it's all over for Blacke and Chris and all those guys. If they ever get a ring, it'll really be somebody else's ring, not theirs. Blake hit it right--if Kawhi gets another ring [and it would be PG's first], they really would own the name Clippers.
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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#8 » by esqtvd » Mon Aug 5, 2019 4:35 am

ADD: Except for Ramna's obligatory snide shot at Doc above :lol: (Doc DID turn DJ [8 ppg/8 rpg] into an All-Star, as much of a Bill Russell as was humanly possible), I agree with his post.

Except that as the Point God, Chris's job was to lead. Although he's all about winning--and Blake was not--Everybody Hates Chris. Can't lead when everybody hates you. Chris's job was to somehow get Blake to buy into CP ball.

As we saw with Harden last year, and the fact that no NBA contender wants him, nobody wants to buy into CP ball, and nobody seems to want to play with Blake. The marriage was never going to work, and as Doc has noted, he had no say about the marriage he inherited and was expected to be the marriage counselor for.

BG realizes this now, and after his pal The Beard dumped him CP is only now getting the message. You didn't like playing together, but as it turns out, nobody wants to play with either of you either.

The thing is, I don't think either of them has the slightest intention of changing...
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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#9 » by Young Sterling » Mon Aug 5, 2019 4:37 am

Seriously, I hate measuring an athlete's worth by rings. Go tell Adam Silver not to let Steve Nash into the HOF and see his response lol.

I hope Blake understands how grateful true fans are to him. He and the Lob City Clips brought us into relevancy, made people hate us (a winner quality), and definitely helped bring in a lot of new fans to the base. Those new fans were the seeds planted by lob city, and we're about to reap the fruit of all the hard work and timing.
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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#10 » by QRich3 » Mon Aug 5, 2019 11:57 am

I took his "ultimately" as him saying "ok, in this culture of rangzzzz", so I don't think he's giving his own opinion when he says they didn't accomplish anything. He, more than anyone, knows the sweat and tears it all took and the great teams they were against. Some of them they defeated.

Hopefully he's the first Clipper ever to have his jersey retired and we can all move on from all the disappointment.
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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#11 » by TheNewEra » Mon Aug 5, 2019 7:54 pm

Wish Doc would take more responsibility for the team failures. He had a ego in his own right and assisted in the crying to the refs culture. The terrible work as a GM and as a coach not having his team seize the moment when ahead
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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#12 » by esqtvd » Mon Aug 5, 2019 10:20 pm

TheNewEra wrote:Wish Doc would take more responsibility for the team failures. He had a ego in his own right and assisted in the crying to the refs culture. The terrible work as a GM and as a coach not having his team seize the moment when ahead



What Doc said to the players was, stop whining to the refs. I'LL do the whining.

And if you go through those years, you'll see that the Clippers were among the top in FTAs year after year. Doc is an excellent whiner, one of the best.
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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#13 » by donemilio21 » Mon Aug 5, 2019 11:26 pm

esqtvd wrote:
Now Blake is dead-ended in Detroit, everybody hates Chris, DJ is playing for $10M a year, and JJ will probably never sniff the playoffs again


JJ made playoffs for 13 straight years. He does have a shot with Pelicans this year and next too.
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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#14 » by esqtvd » Mon Aug 5, 2019 11:40 pm

donemilio21 wrote:
esqtvd wrote:
Now Blake is dead-ended in Detroit, everybody hates Chris, DJ is playing for $10M a year, and JJ will probably never sniff the playoffs again


JJ made playoffs for 13 straight years. He does have a shot with Pelicans this year and next too.



Even if true, a ring is out of the question. The window has closed for all of them and I think they sense it, hence the regrets. None of them are in a situation now you could call special--actually they're each closer to NBA Siberia--except maybe for DJ but that's at least a year off. Those Clippers were a special time and place and they just didn't make the most of it.
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Hard and Ugly Truth 

Post#15 » by Ranma » Tue Aug 6, 2019 12:55 am

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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#16 » by nickhx2 » Tue Aug 6, 2019 1:04 am

mental toughness wouldn't have mattered if didn't butcher FO move after FO move
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NBA's All-Decade Team in Progress 

Post#17 » by Ranma » Tue Aug 6, 2019 1:06 am

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Re: Blake Griffin: Clippers Didn’t Accomplish Anything During Lob City Era 

Post#18 » by BigRedDog » Wed Aug 7, 2019 4:45 am

Melo over giannis and wade... just wow....
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Ranma, Looking Back... 

Post#19 » by Wammy Giveaway » Wed Aug 7, 2019 8:32 am

Do you think all of my personal thoughts about the Lob City Clippers - their image, how they want to be portrayed by media, getting caught up in their own hype - were spot on? All of my podcasts in some way, shape or form covered this greatly in depth. From wanting to be loved to blinding thinking the dark days were finally over after Sterling was banished, there was still a lack of awareness, a false sense of comfort, and disregard to competition. Missing the playoffs and being compared to Sterling Clippers in 2017-18 season was a wake-up call, and they responded well by changing their attitude and professionalism. Now they're the new Spurs, taking notes from Biggie Small's "Bad Boys move in silence" motto. Yeah, Doc's no Pop, but in the face of a scandal, he's good enough to have on your team.

Talking about Chris Paul, when you mentioned how all of Griffin's efforts were misguided from the beginning, it makes that sound like a Sterling problem, given that he was drafted under his regime. When I read that, I think of "Griffin was nothing more than a butt-seat magnet in the name of the almighty dollar," business as usual. I honestly don't know much about Neil Olshey's run because I got into the Clippers during the 2011 NBA Lockout, so I can't say if he took after Sterling's habits, but my hunch tells me that was never the case. Their old plan was, get somebody who can make the Clippers relevant in a famous sense, then seek out a winning player. Sterling was really fortunate that his buddy David Stern came to him with a deal, and very fortunate that Stern had a vendetta against the Lakers following their failure to 3-peat after being disgraced by Mavs and their own Andrew Bynum in Game 4. Stern was basically entrusting Sterling to look after Chris Paul - and he failed. Then the franchise failed. Compare all this to the West regime, when he had the franchise work for their worth, being respectful to their opponents, the referees, and the spirit of competition as a whole. They lost admirably to the Warriors, a dynasty that Lob City should have never created had they taken them seriously in 2012-13 season, but they were rewarded handsomely with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Looking back, would you rather have the West way or the Stern way?
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Re: Ranma, Looking Back... 

Post#20 » by esqtvd » Wed Aug 7, 2019 9:08 am

Wammy Giveaway wrote: Stern was basically entrusting Sterling to look after Chris Paul - and he failed. Then the franchise failed.


Well actually, Sterling was in his glory and after years of being almost the only owner to consistently make a profit [not throwing money away on stuff like winning], he was actually spending money on a training center and went over the cap for the first time. The Clippers were the talk of the town, esp with the Lakers in the gutter.

Except for V Stiviano and getting caught in the only unforgivable sin in the 21st century, race. Sterling was enjoying the finest moments of his life. And even in disgrace, he still got a 2 billion dollar ticket to Palookaville.


As for Chris and Blake and the rest, it's an old story--you don't know what you've got til it's gone. Jamal said the other day that they got complacent about winning 50 games a year, and one of these years they just knew they were destined to win it all. So they never developed the "mental toughness," as Jamal put it, the eye of the tiger. Now looking back, they're physically too old to go as hard as they could when they were younger--as hard as they SHOULD have gone when they were younger--and there's where the regret starts.
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