Griffin in space
It remains to be seen how successful Blake Griffin will be in the NBA, but one of the most insightful remarks during Griffin’s farewell news conference Tuesday afternoon came from Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel.
Capel said the 6-foot-10, 252-pound Griffin has a great chance for success because there is more open space in the NBA than there is in college basketball, and Capel is absolutely right. The court is still 94-by-50 feet and the players are bigger, but there actually is more space.
In college, Griffin was routinely double- and triple-teamed. In the NBA, the defensive three-second rule prevents defenders from ganging up on single players.
Defenders are allowed to double-team any player, but defenders in the lane or in the area extending 4 feet past the lane endline must actively be guarding an opponent (within arm’s length in a guarding position) within three seconds. This translates to fewer double-teams down low against Griffin, and we all have seen what Griffin can do when he’s not double-teamed (40 points and 23 rebounds vs. Texas Tech).
Hornets point guard Chris Paul was outstanding at Wake Forest, but he’s even better as a pro. Paul has said the primary reason for this was because there is more open space to create in the NBA. The same has held true for several players who excelled in college and became even better in the pros — Dwyane Wade, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Danny Granger, Brandon Roy.
The same could hold true for Griffin.
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