Blake Griffin already has a bit of a chip on his shoulder during the 2016-2017 season, despite the Clippers being one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Even though Griffin is still on the Clippers, there have been rumors about the possibility of the power forward hopping to another contender after the 2015-2016 season (or even before then) in order to have a more concrete chance at a ring. The Thunder are the leading possibility, even if the current makeup of that team (AKA Russell Westbrook leading the charge) doesn’t exactly mesh with Blake’s on-court skills or prior team performance.
On Saturday night, though, Blake Griffin threw down an insane dunk on Robin Lopez of the Chicago Bulls, proving that right now he is nowhere close to giving up on his time with Los Angeles — and that he’s every bit of a ferocious dunker as he always has been.
ALL OF THE CAPS. #BlakeDoingBlakeThings 😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/TMAJ88VVY3
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 20, 2016
Blake showed no mercy on Lopez as he pulled back and unleashed a brutal slam, bringing LA within nine points of the Bulls at that point in the second quarter (including the and-one) and giving the team the impetus to eventually win the game by seven points.
Blake looked as intense as he has all season after the play, nailing the free throw and pushing the Clips to their 12th win of the season and securing their spot as first in the West through the season’s early going.
League observers noticed Blake’s on-court smothering of Lopez’ defense and reacted accordingly.
Blake Griffin just ended Robin Lopez's career. pic.twitter.com/rxPwiCOpk1
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/NBANATV/status/800195271808454656
Blake Griffin just destroyed Robin Lopez with a poster. It was berserk. Griffin’s 2nd quarter has been one highlight play after another.
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) November 20, 2016
RIP Robin Lopez cause of death BLAKE GRIFFIN
— John (@Friar_Faithful) November 20, 2016
Somebody check on Robin Lopez. Blake Griffin just added him to his poster collection. #BullsTalk
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) November 20, 2016
Blake showed (at least for a few seconds) that despite any rumors that he cares more about standup comedy, or his image, or anything else that comes along than basketball, he can still lead his team through sheer athletic ability.
Something tells me poor Robin Lopez won’t try to block a big man for at least a few games. He tried to get out of Blake’s way right quick and eventually miss out on the relative embarrassment that is being memorably posterized in the NBA — but even then ended up committing a foul and costing the Bulls another point on the play.
