Blake Griffin explains his dunking and Detroit Pistons time

Blake Griffin left the Detroit Pistons with no hard feelings on both sides when he was bought out of his contract back in March.

However, when he seemed to play a lot better for Brooklyn, including dunking the ball, something he had not done for the previous two years in Detroit, some animosity among fans developed.

Blake Griffin was the face of the Detroit Pistons from the time he arrived in a massive trade with the Los Angeles Clippers in January, 2018, until his final game for the Pistons on March 4.

Despite injuries curtailing his playing time since the end of the 2019 season, Griffin continued to be a popular figure with the public and his teammates. Although the Pistons tumbled from mediocrity when he first joined, to one of the worst teams in the NBA, Griffin never uttered a negative comment publicly about the franchise.

To start the 2020-21 season, it seemed pretty obvious that Griffin was cooked. He shot more three-pointers than two-pointers (even though he was not that good at making threes) and was a defensive liability with his lack of quickness. It seemed the surgeries to his legs had robbed him of his incredible jumping ability.

So, when it was announced that Griffin would stop playing for Detroit and look for another team, it was fine. Detroit is in retooling mode and Griffin was not part of their future.

However, when Griffin signed with the Nets, he looked different. He looked good,

Like, he wasn’t the 2018-19 All-NBA version of Blake Griffin, but he looked a heck of a lot better than he did with Detroit earlier this year.

Statistically, Griffin’s shooting percentage went up in every category (even free throws!) with Brooklyn compared to Detroit.

The final straw came when Brooklyn played in Detroit. Griffin scored 17 points in 20 minutes, went 2-for-2 on three pointers (he was a 34% three-point shooter in Detroit) and even HAD A DUNK.

In a recent interview with GQ magazine, Griffin talked about various subjects, involving basketball and his health podcast. You can read the entire interview here.

Here we will look at the relevant parts in involving the Pistons, with some analysis.