Appreciating Blake Griffin's excellence, flaws and all

Blake Griffin's staph infection could not have come at a worse time for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Before Monday's win in Dallas, the Clippers had lost four straight to fall to sixth in the Western Conference, and 11 of their next 14 games are against winning teams.

The Clippers already know how valuable Griffin is. Perhaps his first extended absence since missing his post-draft season will allow his critics to better appreciate him.

Griffin took the basketball world by storm as a rookie, walking into the league as a 22-and-12 guy on athleticism and explosiveness, wowing crowds and demoralizing Mozgovs en route to winning the 2011 Rookie of the Year award.

He followed that up with another 20-10 season, a prop-filled dunk contest triumph, and a playoff appearance in 2011-12 upon Chris Paul's Hollywood arrival.

And that's about the time you can separate the two Blake Griffins: universally praised rising star and oft-criticized superstar.

Two Griffins

Seemingly bored of his above-the-rim antics, many transitioned from being awe-inspired by Griffin to lamenting him as a one-dimensional dunker.

So he added a dependable mid-range game, emerged as one of the best passing big men in the league, and improved as a defender.

Now the criticism is that he strays too far from the basket.

This season, 37.4 percent of Griffin's field-goal attempts have come via two-pointers longer than 16 feet, according to Basketball Reference, a potentially troubling number. But his career-high 40.7 percent conversion rate, while not great, is a good sign.

Head coach Doc Rivers has been pleased with Griffin's ability to mix up his powerful inside game with his developing shooting touch.

"It's been good," Rivers said before Friday's loss in Toronto. "He goes in and out. I still think it's a process that he's getting better at, trying to mix it up. The fact that he has those tools are nice. Then you have to figure out the best way to use those tools and I think that's what he's doing."

While Griffin's rebounding has dipped, he remains the team's leading scorer and highest-usage offensive option, averaging 22.5 points while using over 29 percent of the Clippers' possessions when on the court. He's also assisted on more than a quarter of his teammates' field goals while in the game, a spectacular figure for a big man.

Only nine players have ever averaged at least 22 points and seven rebounds while posting an assist rate of 25-plus percent, and the last big to do it was Kevin Garnett 10 years ago.

Unfounded Criticism

The loudest criticisms of Griffin are that he flops too often, and, according to the tone-deaf analysis of Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley, that he doesn't punch people in the face.

As a freakishly strong, 250-pound power forward, Griffin takes as many poundings and cheap shots as anyone. The fact he's smart and poised enough not to retaliate should be lauded, not mocked.

Rivers agrees.

"It's ridiculous," he said of the notion Griffin should fight back. "All that does is the other team wins, we lose Blake for a game or two (to suspension), and he hurts the team in the long run.

"He's too important to our team," Rivers said, adding it's Griffin's strength and physicality that causes opposing players to take shots at him.

"I think people, no matter how much they prepare for him, they get in the game and they're getting attacked by speed and power, they react, and that's usually what happens."

Clippers teammate Glen Davis, a stout forward who has banged against Griffin as an opponent and in practice, concurs.

"People don't give him credit for how strong he is. The way he plays the game, he pounds and pounds the body," Davis said. "It's frustrating. Over the course of the game it just wears you down, mentally and physically. He's in such good shape. It's just tough."

When asked about Griffin's reputation for embellishing, Davis mentioned that for strong, often immovable players, it's sometimes tough to get calls.

"Just because we're stronger, they assume one touch or something from us is different from the other," he said. "But it's still the same, it's just our contact is different, so it's hard to judge and referee that."

For too many pundits, labeling Griffin soft is easier than considering any of those factors, or that he had suited up for 359 out of 363 games over the last four-and-a-half years.

Griffin, like most stars, save for a handful of all-time greats, is not a perfect player. His defense and footwork in the post still need work, and he'll learn to maximize the best of both worlds with respect to his inside-out game over time.

But at 25, he's already a five-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection who's evolved and improved each season he's been in the league.

How many other superstars with those credentials have had their flaws - both legitimate and narrative-driven - highlighted more often than their otherworldly abilities?