The Basketball Court Swordsman

Blake Griffin was once a very popular player.

Well, once.

Back in that sunny California, Griffin surprised everyone in the first year of his rookie season.

In that rookie season that relegated, Griffin averaged 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. What is this concept? The last rookie with a higher score than him was the great Tim Duncan, and the last rookie with more rebounds than him was O'Neal, one of the greatest behemoths in NBA history.

Not only that, Griffin's dunk has surprised all fans, and he has been a daily frequent visitor for almost the entire season. And in Los Angeles, a city with a lot of exposure, Griffin's high hopes and the degree of boasting at the time would not lose to the "favorite" James of the year. The Clippers also regarded him as the absolute core of the future. to cultivate.

In addition, Griffin also became the first player after Duncan and Yao Ming who was also selected in the All-Star Game in the last rookie season so far. He also won the Dunk Contest during the All-Star Weekend.

Throughout his rookie season, Griffin dunked a total of 204 baskets, during which he had a record of 27 consecutive double-doubles. His style of play is brutal and very interesting, and the statistics are also very good. Everyone believes that Griffin will be synonymous with championships and superstars in the future.

However, the development of the story is quite different from what people imagine. During the eight years with the Clippers, Griffin's team was regarded as the strongest team in the Western Conference every year. But every year, the Clippers are disappointingly out of the playoffs early.

In the 2015 Western Conference semifinals, the Clippers suffered a tragic turnaround when they led the Rockets 3-1. Since then, Blake Griffin has lived in doubt.

He began to be considered by fans that he hadn't improved and the ceiling was not high. The lack of wingspan also became the reason why he was often teased. Even his dunk began to be questioned. Fans said that his dunk was too big and it was a foul action.

The real thing that made Griffin fall from the altar was his performance and glass attributes. In the last two years of the Clippers, Griffin always suffered some untimely injuries. He witnessed the Clippers consecutively on the bench. Out of the first round in two years.

With the continuous injury, Griffin's highlight appearances are also decreasing. At the same time, in a big city like Los Angeles, he has more and more lace news off the court, and fans naturally dislike him.

As a result, just after Griffin had just signed a big contract with the Clippers and had some "simulated retirement ceremony" with the Clippers, he was suddenly traded before the trade deadline.

Without any advance notice, Griffin was abandoned. Moreover, he was thrown into the Detroit Pistons, a place where even the city and the team were in a desperate situation.

It wasn't until then that Griffin finally realized it.

I am no longer the "favorite of heaven" at the beginning, and I have disappointed the Clippers and would rather trade him. He has fallen out of the ranks of superstars. If he doesn't work hard, he will be like Reggie Jackson and Drummond in Detroit for a lifetime.

Until one day he could not continue to run on the field, and then bleakly retired without anyone remembering him.

As someone who has had a dream start, Griffin naturally didn't want this to happen. So he started his own rebirth in Detroit.

This season, Griffin began to change. At the beginning of the new season, Griffin tried his best in front of the 76ers and Embiid.

He used his extremely versatile performance to teach the up-and-coming Embiid, Griffin contributed 50 points and 14 rebounds in a large double-double, and made 5 of 10 3-pointers. And in the last 1.8 seconds of the game, Griffin also completed a beautiful lore.

Since that game, Griffin has been out of control.

This season, Griffin averaged 24.5 points per game, a career high. The three-point shooting percentage is as high as 36.8%, the second highest in his career.

But you have to know that Griffin made only 0.4 three-pointers per game in the year when Griffin had a career-high 40% three-pointer percentage! Such a small data sample has no reference value at all. And this year, Griffin can shoot 7 three-pointers!

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that this year is Griffin's highest three-pointer percentage.

In addition, Griffin averaged 5.4 assists per game. On the basketball court, he went from a showy dribble at the beginning to a real ball-holding organization.

Although the Pistons' record this season is only eighth in the Eastern Conference, they unfortunately met the Trail Blazers in the first round. But Griffin won't give up so easily. His goal is simple, to win the Pacers once!

Even if it was only once, he was satisfied.

Therefore, in an interview with reporters at Indianapolis Airport the day before the start of the playoffs, Griffin also expressed his determination, "We are here to win. Any result other than winning is A failure."

No one thought that Griffin would be so tough. In most people's minds, Griffin is still the All-Star fringe player, or the fallen player who fell under the Kardashian women.

But in fact, today's Griffin has been completely reborn.

Henson also knows this very well. In fact, Blake Griffin is one of Henson's most regrettable players this year. He finally matured, but he didn't have as much exposure and team configuration as before. At his peak, he had the worst resources in his career.

However, Griffin is always an opponent. Although he appreciates this nirvana rebirth guy, it does not mean that Henson will allow Griffin to play a dominant performance at his home court.

What Henson wants is 4-0, a sweep, and an easy win! He does not allow any accidents in the game against the Pistons!

Therefore, Henson specifically confessed to Antetokounmpo the day before the start of the game, "Boy, tomorrow's game, I hope you are the superstar who controls the game."

Antetokounmpo nodded his head comprehensibly, and then began the confrontational defense and offensive training on the training ground. Tomorrow, he will take care of Blake Griffin.

After all, this year, Antetokounmpo is the most popular MVP candidate. This Greek is the current candidate for the league's top forward!

But the media were obviously moved by Griffin's remarks, especially some local media in Detroit. Somehow, they actually had the idea that "The Pistons might actually bite the Pacers."

So during the media opening hours in the afternoon, countless reporters poured into the training hall and asked Henson what he thought of Griffin's remarks.

In this regard, Henson disagrees.

"I respect Blake, and I know his strength very well. But you want to ask my goal? It's simple, 4 to 0."

Many people think Henson is just joking, after all, Griffin has shown his determination. As long as Griffin breaks out in a certain game, and then cut data such as 50+ points, it is not impossible to win a game on the Pacers.

With Griffin's current ability and spirit, he is absolutely possible to play such a game.

So, after hearing Henson's answer so arrogantly, a reporter from Detroit asked angrily.

"I know that the Pistons' record this season and the Pacers can't be compared. But I have to remind Coach Henson. Blake Griffin is one of the best forwards in the league this season. You better, don't It’s too simple to think of the Pistons. Maybe the Pistons can't beat you, but it will definitely cause a huge problem for your team."

"The best forward? Well, tomorrow I will show you how the best forward in the league plays."

Instead of being frightened by the reporter, Henson joked. Then he patted the Detroit reporter on the shoulder. This guy probably doesn't know how big the gap between the Pistons and the Pacers is.

If Henson insisted, it would be as big as the combined size of O'Neill and Barkley...