Q: Who committed more fouls in the Spurs v. Clippers 2nd Round series: Tim Duncan or Blake Griffin?
A: Tim Duncan and Blake Griffin have never committed a foul, ever, since they’ve been born.
TOP: March 23, 2012 - Jason Smith plows into Blake Griffin. A day later, Smith is suspended 2 games for what Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations, deemed “excessive contact with the upper body of Griffin.”
BOTTOM: May 15, 2012 - Dwyane Wade barrels into Darren Collison. Unlike Griffin, Collison never saw Wade, who shoved the Indiana PG from behind. Wade, like Smith, made no basketball play. Collison did not have the ball. Wade extended his forearm, pushing Collison underneath the basket.
Given the ruling on Smith, Wade should absolutely be suspended at least one game. Unfortunately, as we all know by now, David Stern is a crook, and the league values Dwyane and the Heat far more than Jason and the Hornets.
GUEST COLUMN: Everyone Hates Blake
A smart guy (Batman) once said that you either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain. Some, like Kevin Garnett, see their heroic toil continue for much of their careers, only to be branded villain once they become successful and their parlor trick of punking the Jose Calderons of the world shifts from amusing to irritating. Electrifying Clippers big man Blake Griffin has seen that cycle shortened to a two season study in contrasts reminiscent of the masks used in Greek theatre.
In his rookie year, Blake is branded a budding superstar before the start of the season and justifies his place at the table by unleashing a variety of monster throwdowns promising enough to elicit comparisons to early-day Reign Man. Observe, as he finishes a ¾-court lob! Applaud, as he spins around a standing Tracy McGrady! Fulminate, as he dunks over Mozgov!
His finishing and relentless work ethic, compounded by the futility of his enterprise, brought to mind a modern day Sisyphus. Except this Sisyphus was really awesome at dunking. And if you muttered “Sisyphus” around him without enunciating well, he might clock you. To top it all off, he dunked over a car in a moment so comically iconic that it seemingly became a commercial the moment the ball passed through the hoop.
Entering his sophomore campaign accompanied by a self-assured series of (you guessed it) Kia commercials and the point guard wizardry of Chris Paul, Blake seemed ready to take his seat at the adult table, by force if necessary. But, as another really smart guy (Superman?) said: “between the motion, and the act, falls the shadow.” What happened? Why does everyone hate Blake?
It begins with his attempts to humiliate everyone in the league. Bottom line is the dude that puts his elbow in your throat on his way to shoving the ball through the basket is not going to be Mr. Popularity, no matter what, but his constant plaintive looks toward the referees, after nearly every play, don’t do wonders for his reputation either (note to Mr. Griffin: on your two most recent highlight humiliations of Pau Gasol, both of those plays could have easily been called a foul on you). Also, his game is by no means a finished product—for every highlight reel dunk, there is a blank expression as he fails to make a proper rotation, allowing an opposing guard to cruise in for an easy layup.
All of that is true, but could the torrent of Griffin criticism be unwarranted? In some ways, he recalls a young Shaq, or Rodman, in that his overwhelming physicality just rubs people the wrong way. Similar to how Shaq’s beastly presence on the inside prompted many a nasty remark and over-aggressive foul, Griffin elicits opponent and opposing fan anger. The other team, and its crowd, want to put him down so hard Griffin should think twice about flying chest-first into the teeth of the defense. And yet, he never does.
Maybe that’s what makes people so mad about him: he’s that punk you punch in the face in elementary school, only he keeps coming and coming and coming until you bow to his onslaught. There’s something lovable and infuriating about the big kid that tries too hard. He keeps knocking his opponents out of the way, and doesn’t seem to get why they’re mad at him afterwards.
Like the Incredible Hulk, he can’t help himself once he gets into his zone. And, while he exits the arena in a bespoke suit instead of tattered purple shorts, on a bus instead of hitchhiking down a lonely highway, the trail of destruction and ill feelings that he leaves in his wake is the same.
(Michael is the first member of the Got ‘Em Family. I’m still looking for talented contributors who can help keep the site going strong. Check Michael out on his personal tumblr)
Final Thoughts on All-Star Weekend:
- LeBron James and Russell Westbrook must be in next year’s dunk contest, or give it a year off. Make us want it again.
- I love him, but no more Kenny Smith during the dunk contest.
- No more celebrities on the court during anything but the Celebrity Game.
- More wired players, more wired moments. If you watched the All-Star game last night, I hope you caught the moment where Andre Iguodala was on the bench talking about watching the rim when he shoots vs. watching his shot after it leaves his hand. It led to a great discussion from Steve Kerr and Reggie Miller, who were calling the game. Nice work, TNT.
- While we’re talking television, more Chris Webber, less Shaq.
- Shelf the Rookie vs. Sophomore game. I know it did record ratings, but that probably has a bit to do with a guy named Jeremy Lin. You’re already forcing me to watch one basketball game that has virtually no competition or defense (you know, the staples of a basketball game) until the last two minutes. Let’s just keep it at one. Replace it with a different event every year until you find a winner. For example: Knockout, H.O.R.S.E. (bring it back), or 3-on-3 where two captains draft their teammates.
- Read my take on the last 20 seconds of the game, then read Adrian Wojnarowski. Clearly, he’s the better writer, but similar points.
If you missed the game, watch everything you need to see here: the NBA’s Mini-Movie.
A quiet (and great) moment with Jeremy Lin, Blake Griffin and some kid.
(via @treykerby)
Best Photo of Chris Paul, Ever.
