Blake Griffin only played 25 games in a Detroit Pistons uniform this year. How did Griffin perform in this sample of play?
On January 29th, 2018, the Detroit Pistons got their “Superstar”.
In a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Pistons received Blake Griffin. A five time All-Star, four time All-NBA player, Griffin played 25 games with the Pistons after the trade.
The Pistons were hopeful that the trade for Griffin would give them a late season push for the playoffs. However, the injury to Reggie Jackson seemed to much for the Pistons team to overcome, as the Pistons missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
Even though the team missed the playoffs, how did Griffin perform in a Pistons jersey?
Blake Griffin 2017-18 Season Grade:
B
Now, I’m much higher on Griffin than most are in Detroit. I have no problem revealing that, but I don’t think this grade has anything to do with my bias towards Griffin.
To start off, as soon as Griffin was acquired the city of Detroit was re-energized. They had received a star, a franchise player to pair with Andre Drummond. Also, Griffin is a known celebrity so his presence put Detroit somewhat back on the map when it came to attention.
This has nothing to do with play, but this helps with the franchise. Going into next year, the Pistons can sell what their team has to fans, and the tandem of Drummond-Griffin gives excitement and expectation to this team.
Now, to his play on the court.
Griffin helped the Pistons get on a seven game win streak, participating in the final four games. This can be considered the honeymoon phase, as this team success would not be continued.
The Pistons went 3-12 over their next 15 games, taken them completely out of the playoff race.
However, you can’t point to Griffin’s play as the reason why.
Over his first 12 games with the Pistons, the team went 6-6 with Griffin playing his worst ball with the club.
Griffin averaged 18.3 points per game, shooting 39 percent from the field on 16.5 shot attempts a game. Griffin was shooting 5.5 threes per game, shooting a horrific 25 percent. He averaged 6.8 rebounds a game and 5.5 assists to go along with it.
Griffin struggled incorporating himself with the team, as the team also struggled to incorporate a talent of Griffin’s into the offense.
Once Griffin got accustomed to the team, his numbers resembled the All-NBA player he was.
Over the next 13 games, Griffin averaged 21 points a game, shooting 46 percent on 17 shots. Griffin saw a seven percent increase in field goal percentage on more shots per game. Griffin also saw an 18(!) percent increase in his three-point percentage, shooting 43 percent on five attempts a game. He also averaged seven assists and 6.5 rebounds a game.
When Griffin was on the court, the Pistons were outscoring opponents by 3.3 points a game. However the team still struggled to a 5-8 record during this stretch.
Griffin would sit out the final 8 games with an ankle problem and with the Pistons out of playoff contention.
Griffins individual play during the final 13 games warrants an A grade, but his struggles when first joining the team bring the grade down.
While Griffin played tremendous down the stretch (and giving Pistons fans one of the best performances we’ve seen in years in a overtime loss to Toronto), I can’t ignore his first 12 games. While it is completely understandable why he struggled with a new team and a new system, it counts when doing a season grade.