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The Brooklyn Nets acquired another piece to their NBA championship puzzle by adding former All-Star Blake Griffin to their roster. The blockbuster signing came after Griffin cleared waivers when he and the Detroit Pistons agreed to a buyout on Friday.
As a member of the Brooklyn Nets, Griffin doesn’t need to shoulder the load and carry the team to the championship. Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant have that responsibility covered. Instead, in his 11th season, Griffin is now a role player on a team loaded with offensive talent the likes of which he has never known before.
With the Griffin signing, the Nets seem like a genuine contender for the NBA title this year. He could be a valuable contributor off the bench. Anything can happen in the NBA, but at this point, the Nets are the team to beat.
Blake Griffin had been struggling with the Detroit Pistons
Blake Griffin has been on the decline the past two seasons after injuries ravaged his health and cost the explosiveness that once defined him. In his 20 games for the Detroit Pistons this year, Griffin averaged a career-low 12.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He shot a lowly 36.5% from the field including, 31.5% from three-point range.
Still, with Blake Griffin on board, the Brooklyn Nets have become the talk of the town. But are these discussions about the Nets positive or negative? Have the Brooklyn Nets turned into the favorites to win the 2021 NBA title now, or are they destined to be another failed super team?
Why the Brooklyn Nets are the favorites to win the title with Blake Griffin
It has only been two years since Blake Griffin was an All-Star during a season in which he averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. That same year, he was also named an All-NBA Third Team member, and the Detroit Pistons were a playoff team mostly because of his exemplary play.
He sat out most of last season due to various injuries, and he hasn't regained that All-Star form when he's on the court. But Griffin’s poor play this season may be a product of the Pistons centering their offense around Jerami Grant, as this move notably changed the team's scheme.
Likewise, Griffin's shot may be off this year, but these struggles could be the result of playing heavy minutes against starters. Given a more specific role as a second-stringer with the Brooklyn Nets, he could be more productive in limited minutes.
Griffin should be a beneficial addition because he can play at the power forward position, and he can also fill in at center if the Brooklyn Nets decide to go small during stretches. He can also draw an opposing center out of the paint because the defender will have to respect his shot.
Plus, Blake Griffin is an excellent passer from the post, and he can initiate the Brooklyn Nets’ offense when either James Harden or Kyrie Irving take a breather. This season, Griffin is averaging 4.4 assists per 36 minutes. For an offense that’s already the best in the league with an 118.2 offensive rating, having another playmaker on the floor should only make its ball movement flow that much smoother.
Additionally, the Brooklyn Nets now have an insurance policy for when superstar Kevin Durant needs time to rest and stay fresh for the postseason grind.
Yet another benefit can be found in Griffin's postseason experience. In the playoffs, and potentially in the Finals, Griffin’s veteran savvy will come in handy for the Brooklyn Nets, even if he has never reached the last two rounds of the postseason before.
If the Brooklyn Nets were difficult to stop on offense before, having the six-time All-Star come off the bench makes them nearly impossible to contain. The Nets are clearly banking on their offensive firepower to carry them to a title, and the results so far have already been promising.
With Griffin on board, the Nets are more capable of winning it all than perhaps any team in the league right now.
Why the Brooklyn Nets aren’t the title favorites despite Blake Griffin’s presence
Blake Griffin was never a lockdown defender, even during his best days as a member of the LA Clippers. As a shell of his former self, Griffin’s defensive impact has lessened to the point where he might be more of a liability.
The Ringer’s Dan Devine even noted that “opponents have shot 65% or higher against him at the rim in four of the past five seasons, according to Second Spectrum’s tracking data.”
If teams could score in the paint against the Brooklyn Nets without Griffin, expect opponents to find it much easier to put the ball in the hole when he’s on the floor.
“Blake Griffin is quite possibly the worst fit the Nets could have gone for in the front-court. I would have taken JaVale McGee head and shoulders above Griffin. Griffin hasn’t been an athletic scorer for a couple of years now, he shoots threes and isn’t good at it. Plus, he demands the ball too much to play with Kyrie, James, and KD. It’s a bad move and it won’t benefit either side.”
The Nets covet a defender who can make opponents pay for loitering around the painted area. Griffin isn't that guy, as he's not a dfensive force. He won't suddenly become an elite defensive player on a Brooklyn Nets team that’s looking for help from a rim protector.
Perhaps the worst case scenario for the Brooklyn Nets is that Blake Griffin could make them so bad defensively that they have to sit him. His inability to effectively guard the opposing team’s big man could come back to bit the Nets. Rather than acquiring Griffin, Brooklyn could have made a bigger splash with P.J. Tucker or, as the aforementioned NBA scout suggested, JaVale McGee.
The Verdict
Having Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan on the same team would have made teams cringe if this Brooklyn Nets team was put together two years ago.
Now, questions about whether adding Griffin has truly improved Brooklyn’s title chances are dominating the news cycle. Are the Nets the favorites to win it all this season because of Blake Griffin? Probably not, as those defensive issues are hard to overlook. But he doesn’t make the Brooklyn Nets substantially worse, either.
In fact, the Nets are a better team with Griffin. Even if he doesn’t fit as well as he could have, preventing Griffin from signing elsewhere weakens the Nets' opponents.
Blake Griffins won't single-handedly win the NBA title for the Brooklyn Nets, but they have become a much more versatile team and a stronger title threat by adding him.
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