Pistons’ Griffin
The Pistons needed every single one of Blake Griffin’s career-high 50 points to upend the gritty Sixers in what was easily the best match on the National Basketball Association schedule yesterday. They did it on overtime, too, and absent Andre Drummond, their other All-Star, late in the match following an ejection on a second technical foul. And they were right to celebrate as if they won much more than just their third game of the young season; considering how they prevailed in the face of pressure, it’s clear that the free-wheeling style of play under new bench tactician Dwane Casey maximizes their athletic potential strengths.
To be sure, the Pistons benefited from the absence of Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons, whom the Sixers could have relied on to backstop the sterling efforts of Joel Embiid and J. J. Redick. All the same, there can be no discounting their effort in claiming the triumph. Even during times when they appeared to be on the way to defeat, they remained focused on competing as best they could. Griffin was, in particular, otherworldly, showing extended range, poise, and court vision in hitting the half-century mark. For the second straight outing, he bested offensive ceilings in a Pistons uniform.
How good was Griffin? So good that, even with Drummond hitting just six of 20 field goals attempts and goaded out of rhythm by Embiid, he managed to pick up the slack, hitting clutch basket after clutch basket. His best two: a contested 10foot fadeaway off the glass following a pirouette with 34.6 ticks left in regulation to force the extra period; and an acrobatic push shot while falling down for a successful and-one with 1.8 seconds remaining in overtime to clinch the contest for the Pistons.
No doubt, Griffin’s starring role in the Pistons’ early surge stems in no small part from his familiarity with the pace-andspace system of the new dispensation, likewise employed during his Clippers years under Doc Rivers. In equal measure, it’s also because he possesses the skill set to initiate the offense; he’s operating the way DeMar DeRozan did with the Raptors under Casey’s tutelage, but with the strength to finish with contact and, lately, the touch to launch from three-point territory with confidence.
The Pistons have cause to temper their expectations, of course. Even as they stand to get better with time, so will the competition. The flipside is that they’re in the wide-open East, where, apart from the Raptors, Celtics, Sixers, and, perhaps, the Bucks, seedings can get murky. They’re right to tackle their campaign a game at a time, and also right to look beyond.