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Blake Griffin Feels Peace Of Mind After Handling Full Preseason Workload

PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – Had Blake Griffin felt differently, maybe there’d be an easing-in process.

Had head coach Doc Rivers seen something different, maybe there’d be some holding back.

But throughout training camp and six preseason games, Blake Griffin has far surpassed everyone’s expectations in terms of how much he could handle coming off an offseason procedure to repair a torn quadriceps muscle.

Even his own.

“I felt great, as good as I’ve felt in several years,” Griffin said. “Kind of surprising, actually. I felt good going into camp, but you never know how you’re going to respond to a lot of live situations and a heavy load, but I felt great.”

So, there is no easing in. And there is no holding back.

“You don’t have to,” Rivers said. “Just logically thinking, going into the year, you thought you may have to. But, you don’t. That tells you the superb athlete he is. It tells you where his health is, and that’s all good news for us.”

Nearly as surprising as how strong Griffin has felt is how little rhythm he seems to have lost after missing half of last season.

In the preseason finale, his 12 points against the Kings didn’t show the full picture, as he exploded to the rim on multiple occasions while also showing off a jump shot that continues to expand. His four assists against the Kings didn’t show the full picture, either, as Griffin could’ve easily had six or seven.

Routinely, his ability to attack a defense and not just pass to the open man but get that man open by seeing the floor and understanding where the help defense was coming from turned good shot opportunities for him into great shots for teammates.

“I see this every day in practice, and so that’s just how he plays,” said J.J. Redick, the recipient of many of those passes in Sacramento. “He has a unique ability to sort of anticipate the help-side defense rotation and sort of make the next play. Not everybody can see that – especially not a lot of bigs. He’s a unique player in that regard.”

Griffin’s able to look that way in games because he hasn’t had to miss any time leading up to them.

As he does every year, he’s found different things in his routine to tweak, adjust, or discard before he gets on the court. This year, he’s focused more on his legs, something he said had gotten away from him in recent years.

With his work before practice and the work he put in this offseason, Griffin’s been full go since the first day of training camp. He continues to practice fully every day and look like himself once the games take place, leading the Clippers in points per game and finishing second on the team in rebounds and fourth in assists this preseason, despite playing only the fifth most minutes on the team.

Beyond the stats, and more importantly, what Griffin found this preseason is peace of mind.

“Absolutely,” Griffin said. “Playing back-to-backs or having several hard days of practice in a row and then a game and still feeling fine the next day, still being able to get all my work in and do even more, is reassuring.”

And Griffin’s peace of mind gives his head coach peace of mind.

“Blake works so hard,” Rivers said. “Sometimes you put enough work in that you take away any insecurities you may have with your body because you’ve tested it in every way possible. He doesn’t even think about it.”