Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin has had a career year. However, it is uncertain how many first place MVP votes he will receive considering the intense competition in the NBA for the award.
Although most believe this year’s NBA Most Valuable Player Award will be a race to the finish between LeBron James and Kevin Durant, there is no doubt that Blake Griffin, the franchise cornerstone of the Los Angeles Clippers, should take home the bronze.
Griffin has posted great numbers this year averaging 24 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and shooting 53.2% from the field, not to mention a career-high 70% from the free throw line. He has also improved his mid-range game and become a much better outside shooter, which now forces opposing defenses to account for him when he is left open.
Griffin has had a more profound impact on the team that goes beyond the box score. He has become the number one player on the Clippers surpassing All-Star point guard Chris Paul. When CP3 went down with that separated shoulder, it was Griffin who stepped up and played the best basketball of his young career.
He not only scored more, but became a more confident playmaker and leader when the team needed him most. When many analysts believed the Clippers would slide down the Western Conference standings after Paul’s injury, it was Griffin’s assertion that allowed the red and blue to stay afloat and have a winning record.
The purpose of this award is to measure the value a player has to a team. James and Durant have certainly made the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder Championship contenders.
However, James and Durant have proven they can carry a team before. Griffin had never been put to the test where the Clippers’ season was dependent on him elevating his game and doing more than just scoring points.
He delivered for his team in every aspect during those 19 games that Paul missed and became a much better player in the process. Even as the All-Star point guard returned to the lineup, Griffin has not deferred that “number one” status back to him and continues to be aggressive and decisive on the court. It is Paul who is now deferring more to Griffin and adjusting his game accordingly.
If the Clippers were on top of the West, Griffin would likely receive more first place votes for MVP and make it a much closer race. With the Clippers projected to finish third in the conference, he will probably finish third in the voting.
Finishing third should fuel him to play even better when the postseason rolls around in the next few weeks. Griffin disappeared in last year’s first round match up against the Memphis Grizzlies when the Clippers were defeated in six games. He averaged a pedestrian 13.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and shot just 45% from the field in that series.
If Griffin wants to line up next to James and Durant, he must be more consistent in the playoffs like any truly great player. Being more dominant in the NBA’s second season is an avenue any star player has to cross to ascend to the league’s elite status.
Griffin can no longer be labeled as just a great dunker or the main resident of Lob City. He has elevated his game higher than the jet-pack he wears in his Game Fly commercials. Griffin has become not just one of the best power forwards in the league but one of the most complete players as well. Let’s not forget he has helped resurrect the Clippers making them one of the most exciting and attractive teams in the league.
Griffin should finish higher than third in the MVP voting. Unfortunately, he is competing against two of the best players in the world and both their teams have proven to be better than the Clippers. The improvements in Griffin’s game have made him invaluable to his team and he doesn’t need an award to prove it.
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