Gregg Popovich on Blake Griffin: “He’s a Monster”
Blake Griffin (photo. Erik Isakson)
Gregg Popovich knows a good big man when he sees one. For the past dozen years, he has coached arguably the best power forward in the league in Tim Duncan. After Clippers’ rookie Blake Griffin posted 23 points (10-14 from the field) on the Spurs last night, Popovich was quick to pay the young phenom the ultimate compliment.
“He’s a monster,” Popovich told the press after last night’s 93-90 loss to the Clippers. “He deserved to be picked where he was picked, that’s for sure. He’s a heck of a competitor.”
The victory improved L.A.’s record to 3-1 in the preseason. It was also the first game of the preseason Griffin started. It is reported that Griffin will probably start the season coming off the bench.
Will Blake Griffin be as good as Tim Duncan?
October 15th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
doc says:
Not as good as Tim unless he gets four rings as the Don.But he IS a monster.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Notorious says:
I am going to go out on a limb and say… he won’t get 4 rings in Clipperland. Shocking, I know….
He does have monster potential, but probably going to suffer a fate similar to Garnett more so than Timmy. Until he lands on a real NBA franchise, he will just be a very good player on a very bad team.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Ross says:
As good as Duncan? Is that a serious question?
October 15th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Lucas says:
He can’t be as good as Tim unless he gets traded or leaves for free agency since the Clippers are a FLAWED franchise. Remember when Brand was there to save them? How is this team any different??
October 15th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Big Sia says:
Won’t dignify this thread with a response
Smh
October 15th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Scott says:
They should start him at Center. I bet he’d get voted into the all-star game. lol.
Seriously though, he deserves to start. Dude is going to be just as good as KG on the defensive end with a hell of a lot more aggressiveness on the offensive end than KG. KG is nice on O, but he’s never really been the type to ‘go off’, Blake on the other hand seems like he could be that special type of player.
TD is possibly the greatest PF ever. So its like comparing Kobe to MJ.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Scott says:
btw, Rings don’t necessarily mean greatness. I love how everyone gets off on ‘oh he won’t get 4 rings’. Robert Horry has more rings than TD. I don’t hear anybody claiming he’s better than TD.
October 15th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
boombastic says:
the better question is: will he be as good as Lamar Odom?
October 15th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
doc says:
Naw dog, 4 rings as the man means a hell of a lot.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Claw says:
WTF? Seriously?
Will Stephon Curry be as good as Reggie Miller?
Will Rubio be better than John Stockton?
October 15th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
jackass says:
forget about getting traded. please do not forget that spurs landed duncan in a lottery. number 21 came and conquered them all. so to be considered as good as duncan, blake needs to take the historic clippers franchise to the chip.
ps: they sure are one of the ugliest dudes to hit the court that’s fo sure.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
jace says:
he’ll be a different kind of monster.. duncan beasts both offense and defense… griffin seems like he’ll be a beast on offense.. but defense? nowhere as close. he’ll just be decent.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Hugo says:
I hope he is able to play at least 40 games this season …
October 15th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Chaos says:
tim duncan had the skill on both nds of the floor with sustained , consistent production that maddeningly efficient if u were not a spurs fan. as long as blake doesnt get hurt, he will turn into a more explosive-amare like beast, just with more work ethic and effort on the defensive end.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Ian says:
can the kid play a game before we start comparing
October 15th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
mcw88 says:
wtf?!?!?! They made it sound like comparing to KG is a bad thing. Many of you ppl don’t seem to realise how much he has achieved in the NBA. 20,000+ on a playoff team is nothin to sneeze at, and yeah ppl offense translates into points…
Griffin is still a rookie with 0 actual NBA experience, if he is able to reach his full potential over say, 10 years? then yeah he may become like a KG or a TD. Otherwise he’s a Brand at best
October 15th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
K Dizzle says:
Will he be as good as Dejuan Blair?
October 15th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Ian says:
mcw
if he turns out to be brand thats damn good.
dizzle
hope those knees hold
blair parker jefferson our future
October 15th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
King says:
Hell no. Reason being Duncan came into the game with a refined post game and good D an went from real good to great as the years went by. Griffins game isn’t anywhere near as polished Duncan’s at any time TD was at Wake
October 15th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
hadoken says:
if dunleavy starts kaman over griffin, he deserves to be fired immediately. how does he still have a job anyway?!?!
October 16th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Poor Man's Commish says:
Nobody else sees this as at least borderline apples to oranges comparison? Blake is gonna redefine his position. Sure, he’s a PF and so is TD, but can TD dribble behind the back, then go north/south with ball in hand on a break? Blake was showing signs of Barkley-esque in Summer League, albeit it was at this raw juncture a 50% chance of a turnover — you don’t think he will eventually master that with some practice? Blake shows signs of an outside touch, TD was back-to-basket, spin, bankshot. Griffin is power, TD is finesse. Griffin will go thru you, TD goes around you. Griffin will be more like Barkley when all is said and done. APPLES AND ORANGES.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:26 am
92021SpurMD says:
Commish, so Duncan doesn’t have a jumper? Last I remember, TD has overall offensive skill. And about the dribbling, unfortunately TD has been a little too slow to ever really show what he has (I remember his rookie and soph. season he had some handles for a big). Griff is definitely more of an athelete, but he has some MAJOR refining to do before he’s ever on TD’s level. Whether it’s apples/oranges or not, a PF is a PF, and I still classify TD as a better PF than Barkley.
October 16th, 2009 at 9:00 am
TJ says:
So Commish, Blake is going to redefine the position by being Barkley-esque? I don’t think you understand what redefining something means.
October 16th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
sh!tfaced says:
Easy for Popovich to say because he knows that he just stole the next best monster by drafting Blair…
October 16th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
Nah I think you guys are sleeping on Blake. He won’t ever be as good as Duncan not many people will make it to being one of the best big man of alltime if not the best ever at his position. But I think Blake will carve out his own name. Years down the line we’ll be asking if some kid will be as good as Blake. The difference with Duncan is he’s bigger a true 7 footer with arms that reach forever. Blake is more athletic and can take you off the dribble and also has a soft tough which will make him a good jump shooter eventually. Not to mention he’s a very physical player in that Amare mold. In fact that’s who I’d compare him to more. He’ll be like Amare but better and probably have a better career IMO.
October 16th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Poor Man's Commish says:
Well, I meant jumper as in range. When all is said and done, Griff will have way more treys than TD, although I don’t mean to take anything away from TD. If TD’s on my team, I don’t really want him taking long jumpers.
Griff will redefine the PF position because he CAN and WILL hit treys (eventually, I mean, just look at the skill trajectory, the “ceiling”). Amare is already starting to do that, but Griff will develop that phase of the game way faster than Amare.
Griff is gaining more and more skills as a SF, so that’s why I’m saying he’s redefining it because most PFs will be 6′10″ rebounders who can’t slash. I’m saying Griff will be a 6′10″ Barkley who will be too quick for PFs to guard and too big for SFs to guard, and I always thought of Barkley as a SF.
October 25th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
DL says:
reminds me of Barkley; looks like a monster O and decent D mixed with the highlight reel block every game or so