Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Blake Griffin has been shooting very well throughout the season for the Los Angeles Clippers, but his last regular-season game and first playoff game showed some signs of inconsistency that could become troublesome for the team.
It’s been known to happen a lot in the NBA playoffs where a player who has been shooting well during the regular season suddenly can’t find his scoring touch.
Griffin’s shooting abilities played a key role in his team’s drive to the divisional title. He played in 80 games and started each one, shooting 53.8 percent from the floor. He averaged 32.5 minutes, 18 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. It wasn’t necessarily the best season of his career, but was still an impressive one by all standards.
It was his third NBA season and his second best shooting percentage. Griffin’s career shooting percentage is 52.9.
Griffin seemed to be on his game last week against the Portland Trail Blazers when he was 6-of-9 and scored 16 points. But in his last game against the Sacramento Kings, he was only 3 of 10 from the floor and scored seven points. In Saturday’s playoff opener with the Memphis Grizzlies, Griffin was 3-of-9 from the floor and wound up with 10 points.
For the last two games, Griffin’s numbers are definitely down but the Clippers still won both times.
They would prefer, however, that he would get back to his normal shooting ways, and the sooner the better. The Clippers need Griffin’s point production to remain consistent if they’re going to beat Memphis and any other playoff opponents they would face.
