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After the Boston Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors on December 5, former Celtic and NBA Champion Eddie House singled out Blake Griffin for the luxury he brings for being productive when the Celtics call his number.
“It’s great to have guys like that that you can lean on. This is a luxury for coach Joe Mazzulla. To have a guy like that that you can not play for six, seven games straight and then throw him into the starting lineup, and he gives you a performance like this,” House said.
Griffin finished with 13 points and eight rebounds while shooting five-for-six from the field against the Raptors. House also praised Griffin for how he’s handled himself in the smaller role the Celtics have given him because of how difficult that can be.
“It’s a lot of the games where he did not play (due to) coach’s decision. It’s tough to have the mindset to stay ready. To come out and play like how he played, that speaks to his professionalism. The way that he’s team-first oriented that he’s staying ready,” House said. “That’s what professionals do. When you aren’t playing night in and night out, you have to get extra cardio in. You have to find a way to stay ready, so when your number gets called, you can have performances like this.”
.@EddieHouse_50 talked about the luxury it is to have Blake Griffin on the Celtics 👏
House played for the Celtics from 2007 to 2010, where he won a championship on the team in 2008.
Griffin Says He’s Playing ‘Meaningful Basketball’ For Celtics
After not playing much for his previous team, the Brooklyn Nets, Griffin delved into his decision to play for the Celtics with Kristian Winfield of New York Daily News, believing that doing so is playing meaningful basketball, as Griffin put it.
“Honestly, it’s just another chance to play meaningful basketball,” Griffin told Winfield. “I got the call from them, and I’ve known some of these guys for a while, so I felt like it was a good fit.”
According to Winfield, Griffin told him that “he’s happy to be contributing to a championship-contending team once again.” While he has not played much for the Celtics since signing with them, Griffin “knows his number can be called at any moment.”
Griffin has only played nine games for the Celtics but has started in four games for them in place of Al Horford on back-to-backs. The Celtics have won every game in which Griffin has started.
Because Griffin did not get added until late in the season, Griffin reflected on the uncertainty he went through.
“You never know in this league,” Griffin told Winfield. “So I just wanted to give it another go. This seemed like a good situation, and it has been.”
Griffin Jokes That Him Dunking is No Miracle
Griffin had his third dunk of the season during the second quarter between the Celtics and the Raptors.
VINTAGE BLAKE GRIFFIN. 🔥
After the game, Griffin joked that he should dunk once a game so that no one will see him doing such a sequence as miraculous.
“I figure if I dunk once a game, people will stop acting like it’s a miracle,” Griffin told Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
Blake: “I figure if I dunk once a game people will stop acting like it’s a miracle.”
Griffin dunked hundreds of times a season during his younger years with the Los Angeles Clippers, but that has waned as he’s gotten older.
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Ex-Celtic, NBA Champion Sounds Off on ‘Luxury’ Blake Griffin Brings