Image via WikipediaBLAKE GRIFFIN POSTERS PERKINS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w_Vy0lDk_A
24 hours after Lebron James set the bar extremely high for the NBA's dunk of the year, Blake Griffin was not to be out done. In classic Clipper style, the 6-10 poster-child of the Association climbed the ladder over Oklahoma City Kendrick Perkins and the result was an abundance of social media outlets, twit-pics, retweets, shared links (guilty!) and many top 10s over the globe. The recent slam has brought a lot of attention towards the already rolling question: Love or Griffin. Who is the better Power-Forward? Who would be the better building block for an emerging NBA franchise, and which is overrated?
Luckily physically both Love and Griffin stand at 6-10 and weigh similar (Love is 260 compared to Griffin at 251). This makes any argument hold more value purely on the statistical value, which all should. To deduce which player is the better asset to their respective team, I'm going to look into per game, points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and minutes. Percentage wise I plan to touch on field goal percentage as well as free throw and from beyond the arc. Both players will be listed following each stat, with the winner of respective category being placed immediately. Matching them up head to head in both offensive and defensive classes should allow us to finally see which young talent holds the most value.
*Keep in mind, these statistics are from the 2011-2012 season*
OFFENSE:
Points per Game: Love- 25.5 Griffin- 21.1
Assists per Game: Griffin-3.0 Love-1.6
Field Goal Percentage: Griffin- .518 Love- .455
Free Throw Percentage: Love- .806 Griffin- .507
Three Point Percentage: Love- .402 (41-102) Griffin- .500 (1-2)
DEFENSE:
Rebounds per Game: Love- 13.5 Griffin- 11.9
Steals per Game: Love- 1.1 Griffin 0.9
Blocks per Game: Griffin- 0.6 Love- 0.5
MINUTES: Love- 39.4 Griffin- 37.1
As you can see, out of the 8 statistical categories listed (excluding minutes/game), Love owns 5, and Griffin 3. Though Blake has shot a better percentage from downtown, I gave the advantage to love who shoots an extremely respectable .402% for any player, regardless a big man.
To further digest these results, I consider giving each athlete a tie for blocks and steals simply because the difference between the two players is so minuscule that over the 66 game season, 0.1 more blocks a game translates into simply 6 more rejections and unless you're Jose Calderon, that's not the end all be all. Just a games work for shot block king DeAndre Jordan! With the value tied for those categories, Love has a 4-2 lead in the points awarded.
We can't just give Kevin the title of this matchup just yet, as Blake notably shoots .063 better from the field. Now keep in mind Blake is the king of the dunk. As you saw from the Youtube clip beginning the article, the kid can jump. His ability to transform 15 foot baseline jays into rim-rocking drives has two large effects for the L.A. franchise. Firstly it allows Blake to score at a higher efficiency from the floor than it appears Love is. This means that Griffin is finishing more baskets and giving the ball up less than Love. More importantly the highlight plays Griffin donates to television night in and night out help draw in ticket holders and is undoubtedly a large reason why the Clippers are 7th in the league with an average of 19,296 home fans and LEAD the league in away game attendance at an outstanding 19,403 fans. Compared to Minnesota's average attendance split of 17,805/16,199 (home/away). Though crowd's don't win games directly, they do keep arenas loud, magnetic and an advantage. #LobCity has a large advantage due to Griffin's athleticism and public image, and sit near the top of the league with a 10-2 record at home... #intangible
The final point needing discussion is the percentage in which each forward shoots from the free throw line. Love connects .806 % of the time, compared to Blake's abysmal .507! Griffin (68-134) has cost his team 66 points over the course of the year because of his inability to finish at the foul line. Those 66 points, (though unofficially) are enough to factor into Clipper's 6 losses this year. Love (150-186) has finished his trips to the charity stripe at a great rate, and has only cost his team 30 points over the course of the year.
When it comes down to it, a Power Forward in the NBA should be designed to bring an inside game, shoot well, block shots and grab rebounds. Both Griffin and Blake play well inside the paint, shoot well and grab rebounds. Neither is able to effectively show defensive presence each trip down the floor, they crash the boards at a great rate! While Blake does shoot better and appears to be more dominate inside the paint, the free throw percentages provided by Love as well as the extra crash on the boards each game, coupled with his ability to spread the oppositions defense, with his deep range makes him the statistically better player.
Alternatively to answer the question: who is more valuable to their team, I give the nod to Blake Griffin. The statistics are close, and although it has been proven that Love wins that battle, Griffin provides efficiency at a rate very few other players in the league can. Coupled with his ability to sell tickets in any arena and keep the Staples Center an advantage to his team every night (even when they play visitor to the Lakers) Blake Griffin at this point in time, is a more valuable player to his team than Kevin Love. As a UCLA fanboy and California Native you can quote me.
Sources:
http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/blake_griffin/career_stats.html
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kevin_love/career_stats.html
and...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1q6hUE-84Y&feature=related
