# How overrated is Blake Griffin?



## Bobcats4life (May 27, 2012)

A true athlete cares about winning but no Blake Griffin he only wants to be in the ESPN top ten plays instead getting his team a win.
You would think a dunk was worth 20 points the way that many of today’s players react after slamming it down.

The misconception is that if a player is routinely appearing on the highlight reels, then he is elite.

The players who are truly elite are the ones who raise the play of those around them. They bring their team to a higher level because they can do a multitude of things on the court.

This brings us to Blake Griffin.

If you polled 100 NBA fans, I bet 90 of them would tell you that Blake Griffin is currently a top 10 player.

Each game, Griffin makes a play or two that will appear on SportsCenter and leave fans everywhere dazzled by his athleticism. It’s not only fans that Griffin amazes with his spectacular dunks—many current players will tweet or talk about Griffin as if they are watching a transcendent player.

Griffin’s dunking ability may be up there with the all time greats, but what else does he really do?

I’ll admit that he’s a very good rebounder. In a season and a half of NBA action, Griffin has averaged just around 12 rebounds per game.

One would think that Griffin’s an elite scorer based on the fact that he’s averaged over 20 points per game in his career thus far. However, most of Griffin’s points come on fast break dunks and alley-oops.

He seems to lack elite offensive skills. He has struggled with an inconsistent jump shot, and has yet to develop a reliable post game.

Griffin’s free throw shooting has also been a concern. He has become a major liability late in games, as he has proven to be unable to hit free throws when it counts. 

Griffin is also a player who doesn’t make those around him better. He is not a great passer and needs the ball in his hands to be effective.

The fact that many are saying that Griffin is the Clippers best player is ridiculous. The addition of Chris Paul transformed the Clippers from a perennial lottery team, to having the third best record in the Western Conference this season.

Paul raises the play of everyone around him due to his passing ability and overall toughness. He is elite at so many facets of the game, and his skill set is on par with the league’s best.

Blake Griffin is an impressive athlete whose dunks have brought excitement to the entire league. However, Griffin will need to improve his overall game if he wants to be considered an elite player


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

Welcome to the site. I do agree Griffin is a tad overrated because of his athleticism, and it's not your fault, but we've had too much of that rhetoric lately. There's been more of that than any praise about the slight improvements he made this year and how he was the second best player on a 50 win caliber team. If he was really that bad this wouldn't be the case


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## Brutus (Dec 15, 2009)

Bobcats4life said:


> The fact that many are saying that Griffin is the Clippers best player is ridiculous. The addition of Chris Paul transformed the *Clippers from a perennial lottery team, to having the third best record in the Western Conference this season*.


Nope.

But i do agree that he can be overrated at times. But there are many great players that were not able to do the things he does and put the same numbers up at this point in their career. Is he top 10? No. Can he be? Yes he certainly can, there is much room for improvement.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

:jr:


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## Gonzo (Oct 14, 2004)

I doubt that Griffin really tries to get ESPN highlights, ESPN kinda does their own thing and his dunks are exciting enough for top ten plays of the day.


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## roux (Jun 20, 2006)

Dude has been in the league for 2 years now... lets let his career play out a little bit before we start labeling him


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

He's certainly not overrated on these boards youngster.


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## JonMatrix (Apr 8, 2003)

He can be the best 4 man in the league within a few years if he puts in the work. He needs to put in some time on his post game and FT shooting first and foremost. That team desperately needs a consistent post presence on offense. The defense will come as he gets more experience and learns when to take the charge (going for the flop) and when to play physical.

Watching a guy with his size and potential try to flop every time somebody makes contact is maddening.


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## XxIrvingxX (Apr 23, 2012)

He became overrated when he somehow got the starting spot in the all star game over Kevin Love.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

XxIrvingxX said:


> He became overrated when he somehow got the starting spot in the all star game over Kevin Love.


It's a fan award. Of course people would rather see alley-oops over good screens, position rebounding, and open threes.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

This is a terrible thread.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

I mean yea, he's overrated by the casual fan who watches SportsCenter highlights and not much else. But I think most real basketball fans realize Griffin's skills and also his shortcomings and evaluate him pretty fairly as a basketball player.


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## Bobcats4life (May 27, 2012)

BlakeJesus said:


> This is a terrible thread.


I bet if you put Kevin Love on the Clippers then the Clipper would have the number one seed.


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## 29380 (Feb 23, 2009)

Is this about to turn into a Love vs Griffin thread? opcorn:


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

Bobcats4life said:


> I bet if you put Kevin Love on the Clippers then the Clipper would have the number one seed.


I bet you are very wrong about that, but is there really any way to settle this?


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## PD (Sep 10, 2004)

He is an all-star player, no doubt. He is however not a dominant player YET. People put him in the dominant player category. I would easily take Chris Bosh, Bynum, and a few other big men over him right now.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

When his athleticism wanes, he is not going to be a very good player. Better develop some moves and soon.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

HKF said:


> When his athleticism wanes, he is not going to be a very good player. Better develop some moves and soon.


Good thing he's only played 2 seasons and his window for growth is still wide open. Having a guy like CP3 around him should do wonders.


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

I don't know, will having an all-star point guard around you do wonders for your growth and ability to diversify your game? How well is that working out for Amare in New York now that he can't blow by people anymore.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

I mean, dude was an MVP candidate just last year before they traded for Melo.


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

Really, really.


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

BlakeJesus said:


> I mean, dude was an MVP candidate just last year before they traded for Melo.


Yeah and a car can be luxurious 30 seconds before it falls off a cliff...then it's scrap metal.

And let's not overhype the situation. For the first half of last year he was a guy that got whispers but was already starting to feel the effects of carrying the Knicks on his back and with his production.

Furthermore you agreed with me in a KVBL chat a couple weeks back Amare was in that stage where he hasn't realized his body can't do what he wants it to do oncourt.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Griffin is pretty good considering how limited his game is. He's a good passer for a big man and he already scores and rebounds at an all star level. If he fixed a few of the holes in his game he'd be a great player. If he just hit 75% of his free throws he'd be approaching 25 points per game and he'd spend a lot less time getting the crap knocked out of him as well. He hits his free throws, learns how to be effective in the P&R and add a mid-range game that puts him pretty close to the leading scorers in the NBA. He'd still have to work on the defense though and his lack of wingspan sort of hampers him in that regard.


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## Ballscientist (Nov 11, 2002)

How do you compare Griffin to 36 years old Duncan and KG?

In Today's nba, all the young players blow age of 29 are overrated.


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## LA68 (Apr 3, 2004)

Griffin is like Tim Tebow. If you like him all you care about is winning and exciting play. If you don't like him you point to lack of fundamentals and what more he needs to learn. 

Griffin is a phenom. A rock star. He will fill seats and people will accept the weaknesses to get to the strengths. And very few teams in this league wouldn't take him if they had the chance.


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

Tebow = Lin all day


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## qross1fan (Dec 28, 2004)

Yes, because many players in NBA history put up 22.5/12.1/3.8 on 50.6 shooting in 38 minutes and followed it up with 20.7/10.9/3.2 on 54.9 shooting in 36.2 minutes (consider no training camp, new team as well). Not to mention the fact that as a PF he averaged about an assist more per game than turnovers. His playoffs weren't great, but with it being his first, I fully expect him to continue to improve and perform next post-season. 

Give him and Paul a full summer to gel, and if he doesn't continue to put up 21/11, then you can say he's overrated.



Bobcats4life said:


> I bet if you put Kevin Love on the Clippers then the Clipper would have the number one seed.


One of the most ignorant posts I've read in a while.


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