Blake Griffin Should Let It Fly From Deep

Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin needs to make some adjustments to his game, the most obvious adjustment is to make the radical step of taking 10+ three-pointers per game.

Blake Griffin, and his place within the Detroit Pistons organization, is a complicated subject.

Griffin is a star-player who remains brilliant when healthy, but he has had tons of issues with injuries and is paid more than most teams would want to pay him.

We know that the Pistons are happy to have Blake, but as they move into rebuilding around younger players like Killian Hayes it isn’t clear that he is in the long-term plans.

The good news is that in the preseason it looks like the extra-long offseason has done Blake Griffin good. Griffin played in just 18 games last season with knee issues and spent the offseason rehabbing. Having such an extended period of time to try and get right seems to have resulted in Blake arriving for the season in great shape, energetic, and ready to hit the ground running.

The worry remains, however, that he will not stay this way for long. Blake has not constantly re-injured the same things, but it is clear that he is not the most durable player, something that is only going to get worse as he progresses further into his thirties.

Since both Blake Griffin and the Pistons have a significant interest in him staying healthy, Griffin should adjust his game accordingly and channel his inner James Harden and start chucking long-range bombs at absurd rates. This will have several benefits.

More from PistonPowered

• Which Detroit Pistons could save Team USA in the Olympics?
• Detroit Pistons could have major roster churn after 2023-24 season
• The best Detroit Pistons to wear each uniform number
• Full Detroit Pistons NBA 2K24 ratings
• Detroit Pistons: Who will sign the remaining NBA free agents?

Firstly, as stated before, Blake has trouble staying healthy. This makes sense given the highly physical brand of endless post-ups he plays. Trading out some post-ups for even more pull-up threes will allow him to take less toll on his body.

In addition, taking more pull-up threes will also open up the lane for more straight drives which are also less taxing than the repeated post-ups. This is especially true since the Pistons appear to be short on spacing which leads up to our next point.

The Pistons’ lack of shooting around Griffin could be, at times, brutal. The end result will be constant double and triple teams swarming Griffin every time he posts up.

Teams will be far more reluctant to throw extra bodies at Griffin when he is beyond the 3-point line. Meaning that not only will becoming a full-time chucker make Griffin less likely to be hurt, it will also help to mitigate the Pistons’ terrible spacing.

Thirdly, fully embracing the pull-up three will help to prolong Griffin’s career since it is totally un reliant on his athleticism. Griffin is already noticeably not the same freak athlete he once was, but as he gets older he will only continue to decline.

Adding this new wrinkle to his game will allow him to remain a key contributor and lead offensive player well into his 30s.

Is he that good of a shooter though?

two years ago Griffin shot 36 percent from deep on 7 attempts per game and some his best work was off the dribble. It won’t be easy, but Griffin is a relentless worker who has shown a remarkable ability to add to his game.