Blake Griffin Soars Back into Form
Of the top teams in the West, the Clippers are the team that looked to be the weakest link. They have played their season essentially without their star in Blake Griffin and now had to round him into shape during the playoffs.
The game was won on the back of Chris Paul, as was expected. But, it was a high flying performance by Blake Griffin that injected new life into the squad and its fans.
Griffin played 32 minutes and had 19 points with 12 rebounds. He shot 5-10 of the field but it was his dunks during the game that provided that emotional boost to push the team forward.
The Clippers finished with a 20-point victory over the Trail Blazers. With a dominant Game 1 in the books, the big question now is how will Griffin look in Game 2? He now has two days of rest but it needs to be seen how he will look after having played crucial minutes.
If the forward is fatigued, it will take the wind out of the Clippers sails very quickly. If Griffin continues to improve, then he looks to make the squad a more formidable threat as the series goes on.
For now, the Clippers can rest knowing they silenced their critics in the first game of the playoffs