Big games in B’klyn will give Blake his wish
Rookie snub motivates Quickley
Six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin just wanted to play meaningful basketball again. Welcome to Brooklyn, where wishes are granted. Griffin orchestrated a buyout from the Detroit Pistons and signed a veteran’s minimum deal with the Nets over the All-Star break. Basketball doesn’t get much more meaningful than playing on a team that’s positioned at the top of the league’s totem pole of championship contenders. Yes, ahead of the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, and any other team that only has two stars to the Nets’ Big Three and a possible fourth.
The possible fourth is Griffin, a former perennial All-Star who is back in position to compete for a championship after toiling on a Pistons team ill-equipped to fulfill his desires. He averaged 12 points, five rebounds and four assists through 20 games this season in Detroit but may have been playing beneath his capabilities on a Pistons team in a clear rebuild ranking at the bottom of the league.
“Every year previously with Detroit, our goal was to get to the playoffs and then we did that two years ago, and that’s great, but my main focus now was to play and contend for a championship,” Griffin said in his first media availability as a Nets player on Wednesday. “There’s a feeling, even in practice tonight: You know the ultimate goal, you know the main focus, so it’s exciting to have that.”
Here’s the news you’ve all been waiting for: Griffin will not play in the Nets’ Thursday matchup against the Boston Celtics, nor does he have a timeline for his Nets debut. Griffin said he’s not injured at all — despite back-to-back surgeries on the same knee each of the past two seasons — but after being away from the Pistons for three weeks while they searched for a trade, failed, and eventually negotiated a buyout, the former AllStar needs to get back into the proper conditioning that will allow him to help a high-level team.
Nets head coach Steve Nash said the team wants to give Griffin the best opportunity to finish the season strong, even if it means a delayed start.
“He hasn’t played in a while either, so although he’s been working out individually, we want to be cautious and make sure that our plan is comprehensive for him to succeed as well,” Nash said. “We just want to make sure we take a good, hard look and come up with a plan that everyone agrees upon and gives him a great chance to have an impact.”
When Griffin’s conditioning work is done, he’ll join the most talented team he’s ever played for. James Harden and Kyrie Irving on one side of the ball, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan on the other, and a host of more than capable role players who have helped the Nets to a 24-13 record in the first half of the season, just a half-game behind the 76ers for No. 1 in the East.
Griffin said he watched a number of recent Nets games in the last few days and watched film with the team in practice on Wednesday. He echoed a sentiment shared categorically across the Nets roster: Harden, Irving and Durant make the game easier for everyone else.
“Over the years, I’ve tried to always add something to my game, and I think now at this point, I have sort of a skill set to be able to fit different areas and help those guys out,” Griffin said. “So I’m not gonna force anything, but Coach Nash told me to play my game and not worry too much about that. Once we get out there, we’ll get a better feel the more time we spend together, so I’m excited just to start that process.”
Griffin’s role in Brooklyn will be different, much like it’s different for Harden from what he did in Houston. Much of the offense ran through Griffin in Detroit, and he projects to be the fourth or fifth offensive option if the Nets put their best five players on the floor.
That largely depends on what version of Griffin the Nets are getting: The version that averaged 12 points this season, 15 points last season; or 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists two seasons ago.
That remains to be seen, but the Nets are assuredly getting a motivated star.
“I think there’s an opportunity for him here to have less pressure, less responsibility, and therefore, show what he can do and in a greater light,” said Nash. “But this is a process. I’m not sitting here making any expectations on Blake.”
Immanuel Quickley has something to prove. Despite the revelatory start to his rookie season, Quickley was left off the Rising Stars Challenge roster and felt a little snubbed. “Yeah I definitely feel like I could have been selected,” Quickley said. “But you know, it’s not ever a reason to stop working hard or continue to come with energy every day and be positive for your teammates and be there for your team. So just use it as a motivating factor.”
The Rising Stars roster was just symbolic this season because the actual game wasn’t played in the abbreviated All-Star weekend. The honored rookies on the American team included LaMelo Ball, Anthony
Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton and
James Wiseman.
Quickley is averaging 12.2 points this season while shooting a ridiculous 94.2% from the foul line.
His field-goal percentage (38.9%) is less impressive.
As a late first-round pick (25th overall) who didn’t start as a freshman at Kentucky, Quickley understands he’s still being overlooked.
“Definitely. I feel like whoever it is, I said this since the day I got draft, I try to prove people wrong and prove myself right day in and day out,” he said. “I try to control what I can control and that’s something I can’t control, being selected to a Rising Stars game or whatever the award may be. I just try to control what I can control, go in every day and work hard and get better. Like I said, at the end of the year or end of my career, whatever happens everything will pan out and I’ll get what I deserve at the end.”
Quickley also revealed that while at Kentucky he resided close to the son of Knicks executive William Wesley. It helps explain why Wesley, a longtime unofficial recruiter for Kentucky, was so keen on drafting Quickley.
“His son was basically, not my roommate, he was kind of across the hallway from me both years I stayed at Kentucky, so I know him pretty well,” Quickley said. “Obviously he has a lot of connections to Kentucky.”
NOTHING TO SEE HERE
Tom Thibodeau responded to a report Wednesday that he’s clashed philosophically with Knicks executive Brock Aller, indicating that any disagreements are a productive aspect of the thinktank.
“It’s a great staff. We spent a lot of time debating things and at the end of the night we’re going to dinner and we’re fine,” Thibodeau said. “I think Brock is terrific. What (team president Leon Rose) and (Wesley) have done, they’ve set it up where it’s great. It’s a great process they have in place. Everyone is encouraged to give their opinions and it’s worked out well. I admire the way they’ve done things.”
Thibodeau carries a reputation as a win-now coach while Aller is a businessman and numbers cruncher who spent most of his career with Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert. Although the Cavaliers won a title with Aller as an executive, the only difference between title contention and lottery-bound during his stint was whether LeBron James was on the roster.
ROSE STILL IN COVID PROTOCOL
Backup point guard Derrick Rose did not travel with the team for Thursday’s game in Milwaukee because he remains in health and safety protocols.
Rose missed the two games prior to the All-Star break, which began following a reported inconclusive COVID test just prior to a game in San Antonio. Frank Ntilikina has stepped into the rotation in Rose’s absence.
The Knicks (19-18) are 7-3 in games with Rose. “I think when you dig into the numbers when Derrick got here and the impact that he’s had,” said Thibodeau, who added that he doesn’t know whether the point guard will rejoin the team during the two-game road trip that ends Saturday in OKC.
Backup center Taj Gibson, meanwhile, was upgraded to questionable for Thursday with a sprained ankle. Gibson hasn’t played since suffering the injury Feb. 27 against the Pacers.
“He’s doing a little bit more,” Thibodeau said. “He did parts of practice today. And then we’ll see where he is (Thursday). But we’re encouraged by how he’s responded with his ankle.”