After failing to make the playoffs last season, Pistons owner Tom Gores made the call to change course. Ed Stefanski was hired to run the front office and his first big move was to hire Dwane Casey, reigning NBA Coach of the Year. The roster is set, a new coaching staff and front office is in place and training camp is around the corner. In the days leading up to its opening we’ll look at each player on the roster and assess how he fits into the puzzle for the 2018-19 season. Today: Blake Griffin. Wednesday: Henry Ellenson.
BLAKE GRIFFIN
ID card: 29 years old, entering 9th season, 6-foot-10, power forward
Last year in review: In 58 games last season, Griffin averaged 21.4 points – his career average is 21.5 – and 7.4 rebounds. He was traded to the Pistons on Jan. 29 by the Clippers, who drafted him No. 1 in 2009. In 25 games with the Pistons, Griffin averaged 19.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists. Griffin got better the more time he spent with the Pistons, the more familiar he became with his teammates and the more comfortable Stan Van Gundy got with ways to utilize him. In March – before Griffin suffered an ankle contusion that caused him to miss the season’s final eight games – he averaged 21.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists against just 2.2 turnovers while shooting .466 overall and .435 from the 3-point arc.
Career at a glance: Griffin’s career has been tagged by two dominant themes: brilliance and injuries. He missed what would have been his rookie season (2009-10) when he broke his left kneecap while dunking in the team’s final preseason game. Over the next five seasons, Griffin enjoyed relative good health – he missed only four games total in the first four of those seasons – and earned five consecutive All-Star berths. In the last three seasons, Griffin has missed 88 games with a variety of injuries and four more due to a suspension for a fight that resulted in a broken hand. Griffin came into the league known for explosive athleticism. If some of that has ebbed, he remains among the most athletic frontcourt players in the world.
Anticipated role: Griffin will certainly serve as the hub of Dwane Casey’s offense, but in exactly what form remains to be seen. Griffin has always been a superb passer – he averaged 3.8 assists as a rookie when he also averaged 12.1 rebounds – and look for Casey to continue to seek ways to exploit that ability to its fullest. Griffin’s playmaking is accentuated by the need for defenses to double team or, at minimum, hedge toward him when he nears the basket. Casey has spoken of his desire for Griffin to shoot more 3-pointers, something he did sparingly until midway through the 2016-17 season. Griffin took a total of 155 3-point shots over his first six seasons and 69 of those came in the final 22 games of 2016-17; he took 322 last season, 135 in 25 games with the Pistons, making 35 percent of them.
It will be a good season if... : Griffin plays 70-plus games. That’s the biggest thing – good health. There’s no apparent reason Griffin has been hit with the wave of injuries – a partially torn quadriceps, the broken hand, a minor knee injury that required surgery, a toe injury, a knee ligament sprain, the ankle contusion – and there’s no questioning his physical conditioning or preparedness. They’ve been isolated, sometimes flukey injuries and none, with the possible exception of the quad injury, has had any lingering impact. The Pistons have a new medical/training staff in place and you can bet that priority one for them will be to do everything in their power to keep Griffin upright. Other than that, there are no worries about Griffin. His talent is obvious, overshadowing his basketball IQ. And after sharing the stage in Los Angeles for nearly all of his career there with Chris Paul, he emerged in his brief time with the Pistons as a team leader. Look for that to become more pronounced after having a full off-season and training camp to more firmly establish his voice.