Professional athletes don’t read the paper. They don’t watch “SportsCenter,” check twitter mentions, or peruse the blogosphere. This is what they say, at least – that they don’t let opinions of the media or public dictate how they perform. Blake Griffin, though, is comfortable admitting he did exactly that. After watching, hearing, and reading for years how his lack of shooting range held his team back, the Los Angeles Clippers superstar decided to do something about it. Now more comfortable with his jumper than ever, Griffin chronicles the pain-staking process of improvement and how “hurtful” reactions to his skill-set spurred him to improve it in an excellent, insightful new post for The Players’ Tribune.
Griffin’s article deserves a full read. This kind of unfiltered lens into a star athlete’s mind is exceedingly rare – especially the overarching point of allowing perception to influence his preparation:
So you were correct, haters. You became, as the kids say, my motivators. I needed to work on my mid-range game. You can print that. Editors, can I get a pull quote?
The 25 year-old chronicles the years-long process of breaking down and building up his previously broken jumper, including minute details of a new and improved release. Something that stood out to us – and we hadn’t at all considered when it comes to player development – is Griffin’s idea that his opponents are training to stop the very aspect of his game that he’s trying to improve. Clearly, getting better is even more difficult than we anticipated:
You hear all the time that a player needs to “fix” their shot or improve their defense, but what some people don’t understand is that it takes hundreds of hours to make that tiny difference at an elite level. Why? Because other guys are spending hundreds of hours working on whatever you’re trying to stop. While I’m shooting with Bob, Tyson Chandler is in a gym somewhere trying to contest shots better and make me sad.
Griffin also points to a pair of specific shots that serve as incessant motivation – a November game-winner against the Phoenix Suns and a bricked three-pointer from three years ago versus the Golden State Warriors. The latter is of special interest. At a time when so many players refuse to admit that mocking or trash talk from the opposition influences them, the five-time All-Star does the polar opposite – he not only admits as much, but embraces and feeds off that feeling.
Griffin, by the way, is enjoying a career-year from mid-range. He’s shooting 40.8 percent on two-point jumpers outside the paint in 2014-2015, a nearly four point improvement compared to last season’s mark despite a much larger share of attempts from that area. Blake has also made of eight of his 21 three-point tries, good for a personal best number of 37.5 percent.
Now that he’s ever comfortable taking jump-shots, one wonders if the next step in Griffin’s evolution is becoming a consistent long-range threat. Considering the strides he’s already made as a shooter and his seemingly endless well of motivation, let’s just say we wouldn’t be surprised.
What do you think?
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