Detroit Pistons 2019-2020 Preview: Blake Griffin

With a career best season behind him in 2018-2019, (24.5 points per game 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists.) can Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin keep the momentum going into next season?

After a paradigm-shifting trade that occurred in Jan. of 2018, the Los Angeles Clippers sent Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons. The significance of this trade was simple; the Pistons were able to acquire a superstar in the only way that they could. No free agents were ever going to bust down the door trying to play in Detroit, so the virtue of trade was the only option, and they hit a home run.

Griffin’s initial first few months as a Detroit Piston weren’t all that glamorous,  as former coach Stan Van Gundy seemed to use him as a ball stopper on a team that found its limited success on consistent ball movement.

Griffin’s perimeter shot wasn’t as refined, though it was certainly an improvement relative to what it had been in years passed. At the time, he was shooting 34.5 percent from beyond the arc which was a career best (while at least averaging one attempt per game).

The Detroit Pistons struggled to get into the playoffs, and they missed. Reggie Jackson went down with an injury during the push, and Griffin even sat out the final eight games of the season with an ankle injury.

This is the latest of Piston Powered’s Detroit Pistons 2019-20 preview series, which takes a look at what each Pistons player can bring to Detroit in the upcoming season.

Without further ado, let’s look at Griffin’s latest season in Detroit.