Detroit Pistons: Is the best of Blake Griffin still to come?

After his 50-point explosion against the 76ers, Blake Griffin and the Detroit Pistons are back on the national radar. Could he be finally reaching his peak?

If I asked you to think back to 2014 and list the best players in the NBA, who would spring into your mind?

Kevin Durant and LeBron James would probably top the list, and rightfully so – they finished a close first and second in MVP voting that year. Steph Curry and James Harden were starting their climb into the league’s elite and Kawhi Leonard won Finals MVP, so they might be there too. Hell, maybe Joakim Noah‘s breakout year stands out in your memory, after he led the Bulls minus Derrick Rose to the playoffs and forced his way into the MVP conversation.

How long would it take for you to get to Blake Griffin? Probably longer than it should. The then-24-year-old had a career-best year, finished third in MVP voting and led the Clippers to a franchise-record 57 wins.

After such a strong season so early in his career, you’d think that Griffin should now be at the forefront of the NBA’s elite. Instead, he’s been traded to Detroit, missed 92 games over the last three seasons, and was thought of more for his huge contract than his work on the court heading into this season.

Three games is all it took for that to change, though. In two of those games, Griffin was excellent; in the third, he was downright insane.

50 points, including five made 3’s, 14 rebounds and six assists. A poster dunk on notorious trash talker Joel Embiid. The game-winning and-one with seconds left in overtime. It was the most thrilling performance of the young NBA season, and it has thrust Griffin back into the spotlight for all the right reasons.

With the Pistons 3-0 and Griffin looking as dynamic as ever, a question that would have seemed ridiculous suddenly feels more valid; is Blake Griffin’s best basketball still ahead of him?

Before delving into Griffin’s future, we may as well address the glaring issue from his past. His injury history is among the worst in the league, and it’s not restricted to just one part of his body. Since that career-best 2013-14 season, Griffin has missed games with injuries to his elbow, hand, quadriceps, knees and toe.

It might seem foolish to just sweep that history under the rug, but luck plays such a huge part when it comes to a player’s health. Joel Embiid went from potentially never playing a game to being a 30-minutes-per-game contributor last season. The potential for a healthy season is always there, and while that may be an overly optimistic mindset, Griffin is no exception.

And besides, Griffin sure doesn’t look like a man crippled by injuries.

That play shows exactly why Griffin is so dangerous – his blend of athleticism and playmaking is almost unmatched. He can make defenders look silly with the pass or with a posterizing finish at the rim.

It’s that playmaking that has been his biggest area of growth in recent years. In the 2013-14 season where he finished third in the MVP voting, he averaged 3.9 assists per game. Over the four seasons since he has averaged 5.2 assists, and in his 25 games for Detroit last season that jumped up to 6.2.

The Pistons have already used him more diversely than the Clippers ever did. With Chris Paul at the helm in LA, there were only so many plays that could be allowed to run through Griffin. Without Paul, ‘Point Blake’ has been unleashed and he’s been able to show off more of his skill set.

In 2016-17, his last full season with the Clippers, Griffin had just 1.5 possessions per game as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll. With the Pistons last season that rose to 2.4, and in the first three games of this year it’s at 3.0.

That is one of the many ways that first Stan van Gundy, and now Dwayne Casey, have experimented with lineups featuring Griffin and Pistons center Andre Drummond.

Both big men are good finishers at the rim, and Griffin’s passing ability and in-between game make him a multi-tooled threat in the lane. He had less chances to run similar plays with DeAndre Jordan in Los Angeles, but his partnership with Drummond could bring out the best in him.

The other area that could see Griffin take a leap is his 3-point shooting. He started his career playing mostly in the paint, before extending his game to the mid-range in Los Angeles.

In his last full season as a Clipper, he showed signs of life as a perimeter shooter. His previous career high for three point attempts was 44; that season, he took 113 shots from deep and connected on 33.6 percent of them.

Last season was the biggest step forward yet. His three point percentage stayed around the same mark (34.5 percent), but his attempts exploded to 322 in just 58 games. That sudden increase doesn’t look like slowing down, as he’s already taken 18 shots from deep in the first three games this year.

Playing with Drummond has somewhat forced Griffin’s hand. Over his career, Drummond has taken a whopping 94.9 percent of his shots from within ten feet, including 65.1 percent from right at the rim. If Griffin isn’t able to stretch the floor, it becomes difficult for the two to share the court.

That hasn’t been a problem in the early going of this season, though, as Griffin has shot 61.1 percent from behind the arc. And while that percentage is completely unsustainable, he’s looking more confident than ever in his shooting stroke. Just look at the first two plays in this clip:

There is no hesitation in his jump shot, and there shouldn’t be based on his early success. If he can keep that confidence and hit with some consistency, then he will be one of the more unique triple-threat players in the NBA with the ability to shoot, drive and pass on any possession.

Detroit’s lack of shooting elsewhere on the roster is an issue, for both the team and for Griffin. Of the players averaging at least ten minutes per game this season, only three have shot above last year’s league average from three (36.2 percent) over their careers – Luke Kennard, Reggie Bullock and Glenn Robinson.

Over three games that hasn’t been a problem, as Griffin has still thrived and the Pistons have their first 3-0 start since 2015-16, when they last made the playoffs. Small sample sizes can and should be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s hard not to get excited about the new-and-improved Blake Griffin.

In the early part of his career, Griffin seemed destined to become a perennial MVP candidate. That obviously hasn’t happened, and while it’s hard to imagine him competing for the NBA’s top gong now, it’s not impossible that we might still see his best individual season yet.

And who knows, if the Detroit Pistons can make some noise in the East and he can stay healthy, maybe he’ll find his way into those conversations again. After all, it really wasn’t that long ago that he was there – we just all forgot about it.