LOS ANGELES – Whispers heard throughout training camp about Blake Griffin stretching his shot behind the 3-point arc became reality for anyone in attendance at the open scrimmage ending training camp at UC Irvine.
On Wednesday, it also became reality for the Raptors and, perhaps, a glimpse for the rest of the NBA of what the star power forward has added to his game. Griffin knocked down two of his three 3-point attempts in Wednesday’s preseason home opener, while going 10-for-13 from the floor with 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
“Obviously, we get to see it a lot more often than you guys do, but I’m probably the guy that’s on him the hardest about continuing to shoot it, continuing to shoot it,” said Chris Paul. “We always talk about it – when you see a guy work on something so much and whatnot, you just have the utmost confidence in him.”
Head coach Doc Rivers said he thought Griffin looked in rhythm Tuesday night in Golden State, as well, it just was easy to miss amid the poor team performance. Rivers said the way Griffin looked Wednesday, comfortably knocking down shots from all over the floor, is what he’s seen every day in practice.
What they’ve seen every day became evident in a public forum.
“He’s laser focused,” Rivers said. “He’s dead serious, and it’s kind of cool.”
Griffin started Wednesday’s game hitting jumpers from just above the free-throw line the way he was last year, when he saw his accuracy and attempts from the mid-range trend upward. Those are the shots Griffin works on the most, and those are the shots he said he still needs to take in order for the Clippers’ spacing to be right.
But he showed he’s fully capable of taking a step or two back and connecting, even though it’s something the versatile forward said he doesn’t want to fall in love with.
“I still think I’ve got to be effective in a lot of other areas, being a four man,” Griffin said. “So, it’s not something I’m going to pick-and-pop to all the time, but if it’s there, it’s something I’ve worked on.”
And even when he’s not shooting 10-for-13, it’s something his teammates are comfortable with him doing. Paul said as good as it was to see Griffin’s shots go down the way they were Wednesday, they want him shooting that shot regardless.
DeAndre Jordan knows how much Griffin’s range has developed over time. And he knows, after a summer of expanding his range, what that can mean for the Clippers.
“When Blake’s shooting like that, it opens up the floor for us even more,” Jordan said. “If he’s a threat (from long distance), we’ve really got everything.”