good to see that rebound % trending back up. that was disappointing for me this year. he and russell each had great feeds to each other last night on baseline/mid paint cuts; would like to see more of that chemistry and configuration.
They seem closer lately. I don't know anything that happens behind the scenes but they're body language is certainly better both individually and together. Maybe those shooting drills helped them out after practices.
Julius as much as he frustrates with his inconsistencies and lack of smarts on defense ..... looks like an much improved player to me over the end of last year. (master of the obvious) Starting to hit the 3. Does pretty well over last year with the other shorter and turn around Js. Better handles, though scary to me at times with how high he bounces the ball. Wow with the behind the back in heavy traffic around the key last night. Better passer. Stronger bully when he's playing that game, equal or better rebounder(?) Starting to get comfortable with his right hand around the rim. Larger offensive arsenal. May be a trade piece but personally I feel Julius has much higher ceiling. Look how long it took Bif to become as skilled as he is now. Julius is where he is after only 2 years playing.
I love pumping up our guys, but I think he has an incredibly far way to go to be as good as Griffin. At 21, Griffin averaged 22.5-3.8-12.1 and shot 50.6% from the floor. And he hit 29% of his threes. I actually think Griffin's injuries have sapped his athleticism, and he's not quite as good as he was earlier in his career. He's more skilled, but he's lost that explosiveness a bit. If he'd kept the crazy athleticism with his current skill level, he'd be exceptionally good.
I didn't realize he shot that well but then again so many were dunks. I was more referring to he was no ace with his J either early and I don't think his handles were as good first year or two. (?) Definitely didn't mean overall thinking for sure Randall could ever reach his ceiling. Because I think Blake is really good. Just don't like him, same as many others.
I think having a player like CP3 be your "leader" pigeon-holed him into becoming that type of player. Whiny, floppy, cheap. Hopefully if we get PG, he can come over here for a fresh start and blow off that disgusting Clipper cloud around him and get a winning attitude.
Even though Randle might not be putting up spectacular numbers, I really like the effort and energy he has been playing with out there as of late.
this is a huge difference between the two. if randle could dunk in the same situations, he'd be blake griffin. but he can't, so he's not. blake's jumper was further ahead, mechanically, too. randle's got that david west motion (which can work, see david west) whereas griffin's always shot a real jumper. then again, lots of young players seem to be shooting these push shots (russell and harden both do), so maybe it's a sign of the times or something. anyway, my curmudgeonly a** wants a jumpshooter's feet off the ground (and you off my lawn!).
I don't like Griffin's shooting mechanics. He gets clunky and tends to drift. He just isn't consistent at all. But I agree completely if he could elevate over people, he'd be very reminiscent of Griffin. I think Julius is a lot more nimble, but he hasn't been able to work that to his advantage consistently yet.
Yeah. Jump! It's like it's the new in thing now to have to be gun fighter quick with your release for a lot of players and not so much on elevation. Have more attention on creating space. Jordan, Kobe, Iverson and the best of them created space too but then jumped as well. Not only that and I keep mentioning and bemoaning the fact that like the Skyhook, the aggressive fall back shooting form MJ used which of course caught Kobe's eye and like so many other of Mike's offensive skills ..... was expertly made part of his own game ...... seems to have become already a lost art in the league. Let me guess why. It's hard to learn and be any good with it. Just like Hakeem, MJ and Kobe's superlative footwork.
oh, i'm not holding blake's jumper up as a model of perfection. it's not good. but i feel like he tends to get balanced and elevate. if anything, i feel like he releases a bit late (as opposed to too early, like the push-shooters). but again, the push-shooters are doing pretty well these days, so maybe i know jack squat.
Yeah he doesn't shoot it seems on the way up right before the peak. Of course he jumps higher than most.
I definitely think he shoots coming down sometimes. The last couple years I've felt like Griffin might be content. He hasn't grown much as a player. I've advocating signing him this summer, but I've started to reconsider that opinion. He's hurt a lot and hasn't made the Clippers a winner. I'd only sign him if it meant other players would come too.
in fairness, when the clips have had all their guys this year, they've performed quite well. the injury concern is real, though. griffin also worries me because he looks scared in big moments. i thought he was the most choketastic clipper when they completely melted down against houston a couple years ago. just didn't want the ball anymore.
He and Chris Paul fight for that claim. Paul routinely makes bad decisions in the clutch. Nobody over there wants the last shot. That's one of the reasons Paul would have looked good next to Kobe.
1. f you all, i'll cry over the spilled cp3 milk (ick?) forever. 2. i think cp's issue in that houston series was that he was injured. he's been clutch as hell on many occasions. john stockton style.
