Top PF going into 2012-2013, #3 Blake Griffin

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We continue our countdown of the top power forwards heading into the 2012-2013 NBA season with Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers at #3. Blake Griffin had another marvelous all star season, which culminated with a humbling loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Let's look at Griffin's regular season numbers, he averaged 20.7 PPG and 10.9 RPG and 3.2 APG. However, his playoff numbers weren't terrific, dropping to 19.1 PPG and only 6.9 RPG. Now against Memphis he was going up against a very good front court in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. However, Griffin underperformed for his high standards.
Griffin is an underrated offensive player, due in large part to his highlight reel dunks. But Griffin doesn't average 21 points a game purely on dunks, if that was so then a lot more players would be averaging 20 plus points. He has a good face up game, and is very good at using his shoulders to create separation with contact after attacking the rim. For somebody who's only played two seasons in the league (excluding his injured rookie season where all we saw was preseason) he has very good footwork in the low post. Look at this play, how many bigs in the league are this poised in the low post? Jab step, one dribble baseline, half spin back middle and then the beautiful up an under. What's scary is he still has room for a lot of improvement in the low post. After all, Griffin is still not developed enough for you to give it to him and expect a near automatic basket.
Now, his bread and butter is of course his ability to finish at the rim. He is a nightmare in the pick and roll and occasionally can pop out and hit the jumper. When he rolls to the basket, its pretty much 2 points, or two free throws, or a basket and a foul. Half the time we get a highlight reel, or a once in a decade dunk posterization. He also runs the floor pretty much like a guard, he is very mobile and besides the fact that he can run well, he knows he's going to get the ball so he runs his lanes and makes the defense commit even if he doesn't get the ball. He is also a very good ball handler for his size and a good passer. Here, we see him run the break effectively and being the passer instead of the receiver for a highlight play.
Now, for all his prowess and highlight dunks, his defense is suspect to say the least. He averages 0.6 BPG in his short NBA career. For somebody who averages 11 rebounds a game easily, it is incredibly disappointing to see that he doesn't average a single block a game. Perhaps he does not put enough effort into that department, but for him to be an ALL NBA player for the next decade and lead his team deeper into the playoffs, he MUST become a better defender. Blake can easily be a very good weak side defender with his athletic ability. He should also be a better one on one defender considering his 6-10 frame. In addition he must become a much better free throw shooter. This is specially a big issue for him right now, because he lacks a good free throw percentage, he is unable to be trusted with the ball in the fourth quarter.
Griffin will be a top 3 PF for the next decade, but for him to take that next step into being considered the best, he needs to become a better defender. In addition, he must continue to develop a low post game, starting with ONE establish low post move and it is critical that his free throw percentage goes up. We have no doubt that he will get better in all these areas, when he does look for Blake to continue his meteoric rise.
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