Imagining some Detroit Pistons players as Pokemon

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Blake Griffin #23 of the Detroit Pistons (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Blake Griffin: Snorlax

The Blake Griffin – Snorlax comparison was given to me by a friend, and it makes a whole lot of sense. Now, Griffin isn’t quite 6’11” like my man Snorlax, and he definitely isn’t 1,014 pounds, either. It should be noted that Snorlax eats up to 900 pounds of food per day, the dream. But what Snorlax and Griffin have in common is this: belly drum (yeah, yeah, I know it’s from Generation II).

Belly Drum is a normal move-type that “half of the user’s maximum HP (rounded down) from its current HP and, in return, it maximizes the user’s Attack stat by raising it to +6 stages.” Essentially, the user loses half their health points in return for an increased attack skill. And that is Griffin.

More from PistonPowered

As has been touched on by the PistonPowered team and by nearly any and every basketball analyst and fan, Blake Griffin is a really great basketball player… when healthy. His healthy is his greatest downfall and that’s shown a lot so far this season. He’s putting up career-lows across the board as he is clearly not completely healthy.

Griffin is down to shooting splits of .352/.243/.776., which is down from last year’s splits of .462/.362/.753, so at least his free throws haven’t suffered. Though, he is averaging 5.4 free throw attempts per game this season compared to 7.3 per game last season. He’s also playing 6.6 fewer minutes per game as if there was any other needed indication that he’s playing injured.

But when he is healthy, my goodness is he a treat to watch. His playmaking ability is near the top of the league and his control on offense is fantastic. Griffin, like Snorlax, has the ability to wipe any team off the court. However, when your health is cut in half, you get what you’re seeing this year.

It’s a shame that most of his last handful of seasons have been hampered by Belly Drum.

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