Blake Griffin has some crazy athleticism. Night after night you can usually see a highlight play by Griffin, but if you’ve been watching closely, Blake has curtailed his “highlight reel” dunks.
If you’ve REALLY been paying attention, you would also notice Blake has improved his jump shot, passing, and ball handling significantly since he first entered the league. The numbers will back that up, as Griffin is shooting 38% from three-point range while averaging five assists a game, both career highs.
In his first four seasons, Griffin averaged 2.55 dunks a game, but this season that number has dipped to 1.4 dunks a game. Why does Blake dunk less? According to a post he published on “The Players Tribune” it’s because of fatigue.
“My first few years in the league, I was relying on my athleticism to get me by, because that’s what got me to the NBA,” Griffin wrote. “The problem with that is, you end up getting really, really tired by February. My rookie year I tried to get out of bed on a road trip near the end of the season and I was like, ‘Am I physically able to walk right now?‘I went out on the floor that night and ran up and down just trying to look like a real NBA human.”
I’m just waiting to see Griffin in the playoffs, on his “rested legs” because we all know some highlight dunk will come then, and if he isn’t tired, well then look out.
