by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Derrick Rose isn’t the only wildly athletic NBA star who’s grown “sick and tired” of opponents’ only resort when he goes hard to the hoop. Blake Griffin is also fed up.
Griffin admitted to reporters that he’s not happy with the hard fouls he endures on a nightly basis, but he’s also realistic enough to know that not much will change, no matter how much he complains.
From the OC Register:
“I’m definitely sick of taking hard hits,” Griffin said after the Clippers’ shootaround Monday. “…There’s a point, I can’t remember what game it was, in my mind where I thought this is kind of ridiculous. I’m sick of it, but it’s going to keep on happening.”
The most notable foul Griffin has taken this season happened at New Orleans, where Jason Smith shouldered Griffin to the ground on a fast break, earning an ejection and suspension. The beating Griffin’s taken around the rim has impacted him on the court. “It’s affected me this year a lot, especially with the referees,” he said. “I’m just getting frustrated and getting my self in trouble with officials.”
Griffin has been whistled for 11 technical fouls this season, one of which has been rescinded. If Griffin is called for three more technicals this season, he’ll be suspended for one game. “I won’t let it get to that point,” Griffin said. “You got fouled like that, and a lot of times, it doesn’t get called. That’s frustrating. But that’s on me. It’s not about the fouls. I can’t blame it on the fouls. I have to do a better job of controlling that.”
Blake Griffin goes on to speculate that were he a better shooter — the Clippers’ star forward is shooting a woeful 52% from the charity stripe this season — then defenders would think twice before fouling him. (Derrick Rose, by contrast, shoots 80.9% from the line and still takes a beating regularly, so Griffin’s theory is a tad questionable.)
Helpless defenders will continue to hammer away at high-flyers like Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin, and both can expect the physical play to increase once the Playoffs begin. This is simply a part of the game that both will have to learn to accept, and fight through.
