Pau Gasol or Blake Griffin? While Gasol is arguably one of the best big men in the league right now, Blake Griffin is making a bigger name for himself each game. Griffin most recently scored 47 points in the game against the Pacers which was the second game of a back to back, after beating the Lakers the day before. Griffin’s scoring output is his new career high, in a very young career, and is also the highest amount scored by any NBA player this season. These two forwards are very close in the All-Star voting with Gasol in third with 851,456 votes as of the last update, and Griffin right behind him in fourth with 702,784 votes. The question is who would you rather have in the game?
While the Lakers have been getting exposed against good teams this year, Gasol has kept up his averages this year, even with a few games where he’s been a total non-factor. His scoring average is still at 18, with his rebounds at 10, only one lower than a year ago. The main aspect of this big man’s game though, is the mid-range shot, as Gasol can make shots from outside the paint which really adds to his overall game. Earlier in the season though, Gasol was moved to center due to the absence of Andrew Bynum, which caused Gasol to play more minutes even though his totals only reflect a bump in .5 more minutes this season than last. The bump in minutes earlier in the season slowed down the older Gasol as he seemed to play sluggish at times which resulted in some strains on his body and some low-scoring games. The lowest outing Gasol has had this season was 6 points against the Phoenix Suns, and although the Lakers won that game, you have to believe they would have expected more from their star forward against a team with not a lot of post presence, as Gasol only made three buckets on 10 attempts. While that being the worst game for Gasol, his best game was much better as he scored 30 points on the lowly Toronto Raptors, on 12 of 22 shooting for the game. So Gasol can either be really good for the team, or come out and get pushed around depending on his matchups, even against Blake Griffin… but we’ll get to that a bit later.
Blake Griffin, probably the most exciting player not only in Los Angeles, but in the NBA as a whole. Griffin, who is only a rookie, is developing into a stud quickly, and has learned how to create his shots and how to finish but it’s his hustle that sets him apart from others. While his drive for the game is tremendous it’s also getting him under the skin of his opponents, with most recently Lamar Odom getting into it with Griffin for trying to go for a rebound late in the game against the Lakers. Odom yanked the rookie forward by the jersey taking him out of bounds in the process, due to Griffin “ramming” Odom in the back (according to Odom anyway). So while Griffin is trying to do everything he can to win, his opponents are trying to find ways to make sure he doesn’t. Griffin has already instilled fear in the NBA as he just out powers, out works, and out hustles everyone on the hard floor. His numbers certainly show for it as he averages a double-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists, and all as a rookie in the league. Every game Griffin has played in he’s scored in the double digits with his lowest total coming against the New Orleans Hornets with 10 on 4 of 9 shooting. His highest output was his most recent game against the Pacers, shooting an outstanding, 19 of 24 connecting on nearly 80% of his shots. Griffin is not only exciting, but he’s consistent as a player, and definitely deserves to be in the All-Star game as a rookie, it’s as if he’s been in the NBA for years with the way he plays. The scary thing is that he can only get better.
The question is though, how do they match up against one another as they are both power forwards for their respective teams. Well in two games this season where they have faced off their stats are relatively low, compared to their standards.
Player Points Rebounds FG%
Pau Gasol 11.5 9 36%
Blake Griffin 17 13 35%
As you can see, when they play against each other, they both seem to struggle. Gasol is usually defended by Griffin himself, which would cause the finesse player some problems as Griffin is a very physical player. Griffin though, gets defended by multiple players as the Lakers try to put Ron Artest, Andrew Bynum, or Gasol on him to give him different mismatches with either strength or height. So while Gasol seems to struggle against the stronger Griffin, Griffin does better against the different looks the Lakers throw at him, especially on the boards with being slightly above his average against the Staples Center rivals. When matched against each other, Griffin is the better player, with the percentages basically even and Griffin taking the major categories. So why is Gasol ahead of Griffin in voting? Mainly due to which Los Angeles team they play for, due to the Lakers’ overpopulated fan base more votes would go to Gasol. Blake Griffin though, is more deserving in my opinion, as the numbers do the talking since Griffin doesn’t. Griffin lets his game do the talking, and I’m sure you can hear it loud and clear at this point.