Last month, after being named the NBA's for Teammate of the Year, Chauncey Billups took aim at Blake Griffin and his style of play. He claimed that Griffin was "too nice" of a player and that NBA opponents often take advantage of him during a game.
"Blake is not really built like that. He's...too soft of a guy inside for him to be like, 'All right, I'm just going to hurt somebody.' He just won't do it. I wish he would, and I think that people would look at him a lot different if he did that," Billups told ESPN.
Well that was then and this is now. Griffin is determined to prove this perception people seem to have about him to be totally wrong. As the Clippers make their new identity with Doc Rivers and Chris Paul official, Griffin is looking to make a new identity for himself along with them.
"I've never been worried about being called soft or people thinking I'm soft," Griffin said. "If anybody wants to step and take that challenge I'm more than happy-off the court-because I don't want to get suspended. It's not something that I dwell on. I've never really had a problem with being soft."
While Griffin may be known for being soft when it comes to his defense, his dunks tell a different story. That type of offensive production will be seen once again as Paul re-signed with the Clippers for the long-term. Griffin signed a long-term extension last summer, meaning the Paul-to-Griffin slam dunk highlights will continue.
Griffin stressed that he did not badger Paul about re-signing with the team. He believed that the production shown by the team last season was enough to convince the point guard to hang around for a few more years. The Clippers posted one of their best seasons in franchise history in 2012 and Griffin thinks they can do it again.
It all starts with the brand new head coach Doc Rivers who came over after a trade with the Boston Bruins. Griffin is thrilled to have Rivers commanding the offense, believing it will only mean great things for the team.
"With Doc coming in and bringing his staff and kind of mixing some of the staff we have left over, everybody is really excited, feels the energy, feels the enthusiasm," Griffin said.
