Detroit Pistons: What does Blake Griffin bring to the Pistons?

Blake Griffin is a Detroit Piston. Pistons fans have gotten a taste of what he brings, but what is he going to add long-term to the Pistons?

Blake Griffin is a member of the Detroit Pistons, but it will be some time before he is fully integrated into the offense and defense of the team. The reality is that he will probably not get all the way integrated until next season if we are to be totally honest.

Even though Pistons fans have gotten a taste of what Griffin brings to the table, let’s look at the larger and longer-term picture.

A true offensive hub

This is unquestionably the biggest thing that Griffin brings to the Pistons.

With Reggie Jackson, the Pistons teetered on the edge of having enough offensive creation to scrape out a serviceable offense. Even then though, it was clear that the Pistons were lacking in a real first option and the offensive implosion since Jackson’s injury only further cemented that.

With Griffin’s arrival, he should fill that need and then some.

He is able to be the center of offensive actions with his combination of finishing ability, post up strength, ball handling, passing, and even a bit of shooting.

Griffin’s ability to post up is a pretty new thing for the Pistons and he is very good at it. His post-up game is somewhat goofy and wild but he is very good at them. He is able to use post-ups in order to generate shots for himself or for others.

In the first play he backs down and scores for himself on a goofy sort of hook shot and on the other, he drops it off to new Piston Willie Reed.

Pistons fans have already gotten a heavy dose of Griffin in the post as Stan Van Gundy has tried to ease Griffin into the offense. So instead of trying to make Griffin learn too much of the playbook too early, they are just letting him isolate a great deal.

Beyond his ability to put the ball in the basket along with his passing, Griffin also draws heaps of fouls when he posts up or goes into isolation which is hugely important for anyone who is going to be an efficient scorer with the ball in their hands.

He is also very adept at putting the ball on the floor and driving to the hoop even if he initially moves to post up.

Altogether he has the complete package of a first offensive option. He can back down smaller guys, put it on the floor against bigger guys, score well enough to draw help, pass well enough to punish defenses for sending help and draws fouls at a high rate to help him stay afloat when shots are not dropping.

The biggest “wow” factor that Griffin will be bringing to the Pistons, however, is his ability to get out in transition. He is one of the handfuls of guys who is a great rebounder and ball handler which results in some truly stupendous end to end plays. He can go up and get tough rebounds and immediately turn around and run with the ball. And once again, he is able to make plays on the break with his passing.

And by finishing it off himself at the hoop.

He is big, strong, fast, and skilled. Guys like that are an absolute terror on the break. LeBron James is probably the greatest ever archetype of this, and while Griffin isn’t that, he isn’t far behind. Combine that with Stanley Johnson‘s new found confidence in doing just this and the Pistons could see a ton of transition opportunities.

What about the rebounding? His numbers haven’t actually been that good since his first couple of years.

Yeah, this one you just kind of have to go with the eye test.

Griffin is a good rebounder, but once DeAndre Jordan got settled he was more than happy to let Jordan snatch up the majority of rebounds which will largely be the same with Drummond. But it is the plays where Drummond can’t swallow up the rebounds that Griffin really helps the Pistons.

The Pistons have actually been a very average rebounding team this season despite Drummond putting up a historically great rebounding season yet again, the main reason being that with their power forward rotation being Tobias Harris and Anthony Tolliver they do not have much rebounding beyond Drummond.

So whenever Drummond is forced out to the perimeter or the rebound simply bounces away from him, the Pistons were very vulnerable.

Both Harris and Tolliver are a bit undersized as power forwards and while Harris is a better athlete he doesn’t have quite enough fight in him to make up for the size difference. Griffin, on the other hand, is big, strong, has great hands, and is a great jumper. So when he chooses to crash the glass he can still make great rebounds.

I’m pretty sure that neither Anthony Tolliver or Tobias Harris is making that rebound. So even if he doesn’t put up big individual numbers, his ability to box out will make it easier for Drummond to swallow up more boards, and his individual rebounding ability will make the Pistons less susceptible to opponents when Drummond isn’t available to clean the glass.

Can he do the dribble hand-off stuff too?

Yeah, this is probably the best news for both Griffin and the Pistons in terms of hoping that Griffin can get acclimated quickly. The Clippers didn’t run quite as much of it as the Pistons have this year, but all of the actions the Pistons have run with Drummond passing at the elbows they can do with Griffin, and Griffin is a lot better.

Drummond’s improvement has been great in this area, but Griffin is the finished product of what you hope Drummond can become a playmaker from the elbows.

Griffin’s passing ability and the respect teams give him as a scorer lets him operate as a true hub at the elbows.

It will take some time for Griffin to learn the playbook but the Pistons should be able to plug him right into the same stuff they’ve been running with Drummond all year and go just fine.

Essentially Griffin is the complete package as an offensive player. The only place where he is lacking is in his jump shooting, but he has extended the range and improved the effectiveness of his jumper every year he’s been in the NBA.

On top of that, is that the reality is that given how great he is at the hoop you don’t want him taking too many jumpers.

How about his defense?

Defensively, Griffin sits in an area that a lot of offensive stars do.

He has the talent and athleticism to be a really good defender, but generally is just kind of okay.

That isn’t a big problem, when a guy has a big offensive burden it is inevitable that their defense will fall off a bit and the reality is that you live with it due to what they bring on offense even if their defensive problems go beyond just conserving energy.

To Blake’s credit, he generally does play pretty hard and with good focus, but he occasionally ball watches too much and is hesitant to go all out for fear of fouling. Most of the time he is perfectly acceptable as a defender, if not overly remarkable.

There is good news here though, first off is that Griffin is going to be an improvement over Tobias Harris even on nights where Griffin’s effort wains a bit.

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Harris was a sieve who didn’t play with enough effort or focus most possessions and lacked the close space quickness to stick with most guys. Unless it was the occasional play where he made a good play at the rim he was generally somewhere between bad and mediocre.

Griffin will be an improvement on that. Beyond that is that Griffin is capable of locking in and playing really good defense for stretches, especially in crunch time.

He is super strong, has quick feet, and good hands. He lacks the elite wingspan to be a great one on one defender or rim protector, but he has the athleticism to stick with pretty much anybody whether it is a small guard on the perimeter or a big guy on the inside.

Once again, even at his best, he is not exactly a great defender, but he can be a really good one.

What about his long-term fit with Drummond?

Not worried about it.

Even if it ends up failing, it will not be because Griffin and Drummond don’t fit well together. Griffin and Jordan worked just fine and Jordan is not as good a player as Drummond.

The trick for the Pistons is going to be finding the right mix of perimeter players that fit with Griffin and Drummond.

For instance, I am a bit skeptical of whether or not Stanley Johnson will be a viable long-term fit as a starter next to Griffin and Drummond, but on the other hand, I’m not sure if they can really afford to lose his defensive presence. It will be a challenge, especially given the money crunch the Pistons will be under with Griffin and Drummond, but the front-court will not be the problem.

Talent fits.

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