Blake Griffin with another huge night.

[Global Celtic]

Blake Griffin is SCAAARY.   

[2short]

I can't compare him to any one player.  Barkley isn't bad though, except charles is 6'6" or under and when he lost his weight he was never as beefy/muscular as Griffin.  What really impresses me besides rebounding, running the court, low post moves etc etc 
is the fire the guys plays with

[Jon Niednagel]

I wish I had seen some of his games this year. I have not seen one. My impression of him coming out of college was that he would be another Dwight Howard type without the defense. He seemed like an athletic dunker, but that was about it. I figured the Perks and Babys of the world would keep him from going where he wanted and defend him well.

Serious question since I have not seen him play one minute in the NBA yet: Was I way off on this guy, or does my assessment of him in college still fit?

[StartOrien]

I can't compare him to any one player.  Barkley isn't bad though, except charles is 6'6" or under and when he lost his weight he was never as beefy/muscular as Griffin.  What really impresses me besides rebounding, running the court, low post moves etc etc 
is the fire the guys plays with

Seems pretty comparable to Shawn Kemp IMO.

[StartOrien]

BTW: I spy Baron Davis? Didn't read about him coming back anywhere.

[angryguy77]

I can't compare him to any one player.  Barkley isn't bad though, except charles is 6'6" or under and when he lost his weight he was never as beefy/muscular as Griffin.  What really impresses me besides rebounding, running the court, low post moves etc etc 
is the fire the guys plays with

Seems pretty comparable to Shawn Kemp IMO.

Minus the kids

[libermaniac]

I wish I had seen some of his games this year. I have not seen one. My impression of him coming out of college was that he would be another Dwight Howard type without the defense. He seemed like an athletic dunker, but that was about it. I figured the Perks and Babys of the world would keep him from going where he wanted and defend him well.

Serious question since I have not seen him play one minute in the NBA yet: Was I way off on this guy, or does my assessment of him in college still fit?

That's a decent assessment, but, if you can believe it he seems a bit stronger than Dwight Howard and a bit more coordinated and a LOT more explosive.  So, he seems to be able to just get whereever he wants in the paint, and once fed the ball, can finish like nobodys business.  He's relentless. 

Last night he made an amazing play where he sprinted up the court during a crowded fast break, beat the guys in the middle down, and took an alley oop that was on the wrong side of the basket, and somehow guided it in. 

Scary indeed!

[libermaniac]

How bout this for a comparison:

A blend of Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman.

He's got the strength of Malone (and then some), the coordination and tenacity of Dennis Rodman.  And, his offensive game is a blend too ... doesn't have the shot of Malone, but is much more polished than Rodman.

[crownsy]

How bout this for a comparison:

A blend of Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman.

He's got the strength of Malone (and then some), the coordination and tenacity of Dennis Rodman.  And, his offensive game is a blend too ... doesn't have the shot of Malone, but is much more polished than Rodman.

Id say a blend of charles and rodmen. Since were doing fun highlight videos and i love this one as well as the previously posted one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpIggpXm1u8

tell me some of that fire and throw downs there aren't looking a bit like what we're seeing outta young blake.

[GreenFaith1819]

I wish I had seen some of his games this year. I have not seen one. My impression of him coming out of college was that he would be another Dwight Howard type without the defense. He seemed like an athletic dunker, but that was about it. I figured the Perks and Babys of the world would keep him from going where he wanted and defend him well.

Serious question since I have not seen him play one minute in the NBA yet: Was I way off on this guy, or does my assessment of him in college still fit?

That's a decent assessment, but, if you can believe it he seems a bit stronger than Dwight Howard and a bit more coordinated and a LOT more explosive.  So, he seems to be able to just get whereever he wants in the paint, and once fed the ball, can finish like nobodys business.  He's relentless. 

Last night he made an amazing play where he sprinted up the court during a crowded fast break, beat the guys in the middle down, and took an alley oop that was on the wrong side of the basket, and somehow guided it in. 

Scary indeed!

Yes - you are right about the Fear Factor with Blake. The man is nearly as big as Dwight, but can take you off the dribble.

He is a LOT more mobile. He seems to be getting stronger as the season wears on, too.

In watching him play earlier in the season, he was a Beast, but he still seemed watchful - as if he was still trying to see what his limits were.

Now? The man is getting even more confident out there..he plays with even less tentativeness. He is almost like playing among kids.

I try to leave the superlatives out with this guy, but it's hard.

When Boston plays the Clips, I hope KG glues himself to him. I think our Team Defense can negate his effectiveness, but that's what I thought San Antonio would do, too

I'm going to love watching the Lakers try to deal with him. Good luck on that.

[KCattheStripe]

Blake Griffin is the real life Hank McCoy.

[Edgar]

Blake Griffin = Chuck Norris

[LakersFan_33]

I wish I had seen some of his games this year. I have not seen one. My impression of him coming out of college was that he would be another Dwight Howard type without the defense. He seemed like an athletic dunker, but that was about it. I figured the Perks and Babys of the world would keep him from going where he wanted and defend him well.

Serious question since I have not seen him play one minute in the NBA yet: Was I way off on this guy, or does my assessment of him in college still fit?

Since you haven't watched a game with him, I'll tell you. When he's on, he's the most dominant player on the floor. On a good pick and roll, he will roll and smash the ball down, or at least get a foul. He has a pretty good offensive repertoire (post up, spin moves, decent jumper). He plays at least a foot above everyone else, making it easy to score and get rebounds. He has explosive dunks every game. Has the ability to run the entire length of the floor and finish or pass it off...We'll see if he can play that way consistently, but with added weapons in Baron Davis and Kaman, he should be.

As far as the comparisons with Howard, I think DH is better defensively, but Blake can improve on that aspect eventually - Similar strength/athleticism. Griffin is far superior to Howard offensively though.

[Megatron]

I wish I had seen some of his games this year. I have not seen one. My impression of him coming out of college was that he would be another Dwight Howard type without the defense. He seemed like an athletic dunker, but that was about it. I figured the Perks and Babys of the world would keep him from going where he wanted and defend him well.

Serious question since I have not seen him play one minute in the NBA yet: Was I way off on this guy, or does my assessment of him in college still fit?

That's a decent assessment, but, if you can believe it he seems a bit stronger than Dwight Howard and a bit more coordinated and a LOT more explosive.  So, he seems to be able to just get whereever he wants in the paint, and once fed the ball, can finish like nobodys business.  He's relentless. 

Last night he made an amazing play where he sprinted up the court during a crowded fast break, beat the guys in the middle down, and took an alley oop that was on the wrong side of the basket, and somehow guided it in. 

Scary indeed!

Yes - you are right about the Fear Factor with Blake. The man is nearly as big as Dwight, but can take you off the dribble.

He is a LOT more mobile. He seems to be getting stronger as the season wears on, too.

In watching him play earlier in the season, he was a Beast, but he still seemed watchful - as if he was still trying to see what his limits were.

Now? The man is getting even more confident out there..he plays with even less tentativeness. He is almost like playing among kids.

I try to leave the superlatives out with this guy, but it's hard.

When Boston plays the Clips, I hope KG glues himself to him. I think our Team Defense can negate his effectiveness, but that's what I thought San Antonio would do, too

I'm going to love watching the Lakers try to deal with him. Good luck on that.

I dont know man, you have to keep blake as far out of the paint as possible, he can stand flat footed and dunk right over centers/forwards, as noted by the missed dunk in the spurs game, their center was right outside the restricted area and griffin went right over him.

Griffin is going to posterize Erden with the dunk of the century, I already know it man.

Erden, i feel for you.

[LakersFan_33]

Pretty nice night for Griffin with 24 points and 17 rebounds. A few highlights (I saw about 4-5 other great dunks by him this game):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BTxPigJaws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_g2IFEiLYY

Game highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRLl11qOyGc