N/P Blake Griffin has range now

[Smow-]

"Oh me. Oh my"

[JimmerTime]

Griffin had a case for winning the MVP last year, although the right player won.

Dude keeps improving, even after all the haters claim he has peaked.

[BallSoHard]

It exactly is one or the other. You have a certain number of shots you take per game. The less he takes around the basket the more he takes from further out. I'm glad he can make them at a good % that makes him harder to guard but he's so efficient around the rim he needs to take more shots there not less, and his number decreased from year 1 to 2.

You don't get 25 shots and get to pick where all the good ones come from. If you shoot all 25 from within 10 ft 15 of them could be bad. So then, why wouldn't you take 7-8 good midrange jumpers instead. I know this is an extreme example, but i wanted to get my point across. As I'm sure you know, the game of basketball is best played with space. And that's true as an individual and with teams. When you're hitting a 17 ft jumper it makes defenders come closer to you and makes getting the closer shots easier. Also factoring in how little wear and tear the midrange shot is, i'm happy with Ads rate esp considering he's not fully grown into his body and hasn't been the most durable player in the world. Also add in the fact that he's protecting the rim every play on D and going after rebounds and I'll take a little less wear and tear from the midrange game. I do agree he can't fall in love with it or 3 pointers though (if he extended his range there).

[Mythrol]

You don't get 25 shots and get to pick where all the good ones come from. If you shoot all 25 from within 10 ft 15 of them could be bad. So then, why wouldn't you take 7-8 good midrange jumpers instead. I know this is an extreme example, but i wanted to get my point across. As I'm sure you know, the game of basketball is best played with space. And that's true as an individual and with teams. When you're hitting a 17 ft jumper it makes defenders come closer to you and makes getting the closer shots easier. Also factoring in how little wear and tear the midrange shot is, i'm happy with Ads rate esp considering he's not fully grown into his body and hasn't been the most durable player in the world. Also add in the fact that he's protecting the rim every play on D and going after rebounds and I'll take a little less wear and tear from the midrange game. I do agree he can't fall in love with it or 3 pointers though (if he extended his range there).

You got no argument from me. I want him to be efficient and take some shots from mid range because it makes him that much more hard to guard. What I don't want is him to start opting to shoot jumpers every trip down instead of use his size to get to the Rim. He is ELITE at finishing within 3ft. I hate for that to be wasted by relying on the jumper too much.

[BallSoHard]

You got no argument from me. I want him to be efficient and take some shots from mid range because it makes him that much more hard to guard. What I don't want is him to start opting to shoot jumpers every trip down instead of use his size to get to the Rim. He is ELITE at finishing within 3ft. I hate for that to be wasted by relying on the jumper too much.

I agree with this completely.

[Jabberwalker]

It exactly is one or the other. You have a certain number of shots you take per game. The less he takes around the basket the more he takes from further out. I'm glad he can make them at a good % that makes him harder to guard but he's so efficient around the rim he needs to take more shots there not less, and his number decreased from year 1 to 2.

Tyson Chandler finished the 2012(?) season with the highest FG% in the league. Should he have taken more shots? Probably not. Because he was taking smart shots his percentage was higher. He wasn't shooting. He was making putbacks and alleyoops. He was shooting high percentage shots. If he had shot more his FG% would have gone down. Davis can't just finish down low every time. In fact, if he proves he needs to be defended closer as a jump shooter, it opens up the floor for other players and with his physical talent he could then get by most defenders making him more difficult to defend. That's great for us. What would be bad is if he is taking jumpers when he could instead get to the rim. He's already has had a tendancy to do that from the elbow but we'll see if it increases now. Hopefully he takes smart shots and continues finishing at the rim. He doesn't have to choose to be a jump shooter OR to finish at the rim. He can be elite at both and make the right choice of when to go to which.

[Mythrol]

Tyson Chandler finished the 2012(?) season with the highest FG% in the league. Should he have taken more shots? Probably not. Because he was taking smart shots his percentage was higher. He wasn't shooting. He was making putbacks and alleyoops. He was shooting high percentage shots. If he had shot more his FG% would have gone down. Davis can't just finish down low every time. In fact, if he proves he needs to be defended closer as a jump shooter, it opens up the floor for other players and with his physical talent he could then get by most defenders making him more difficult to defend. That's great for us. What would be bad is if he is taking jumpers when he could instead get to the rim. He's already has had a tendancy to do that from the elbow but we'll see if it increases now. Hopefully he takes smart shots and continues finishing at the rim. He doesn't have to choose to be a jump shooter OR to finish at the rim. He can be elite at both and make the right choice of when to go to which.

We are in agreement. But every time he has the ball has a choice. It quite literally is an either or scenario. We both hope he chooses right the large majority of the time.

[MonsterMash]

I agree with this completely.

For me, it all comes back to the player's ability to judge a good shot. You don't want Griffin falling in love with his mid-range shot. He's most effective attacking and being that in the paint monster.

That said ... when it comes to the postseason, certain teams absolutely will expose a weakness like that. Look at Wade in Miami ... Popovich just drops guys off of him into the paint because he knows Wade doesn't want to take 3's/can't make them enough to hurt SAS. When it's the regular season and teams aren't building a scheme around your offense, being completely unable to shoot is less of an issue.

It's even less of an issue for a guy like Tyson Chandler because he's a center, and most teams aren't going to have a jumpshooter there. Griffin plays with Jordan ... that's two bigs never leaving the paint, two bigs who can keep Chris Paul from getting to the bucket. If Griffin can make his jumpers consistently, that's a big plus down the road, even if his shooting % dips a tad.