Getty Blake Griffin #91, Boston Celtics
After Al Horford was ruled out of the Boston Celtics game against the Toronto Raptors, Blake Griffin got the nod at starting center. Griffin, who was once recognized as one of the NBA’s best in-game dunkers during his prime, turned back the clock during the second quarter.
VINTAGE BLAKE GRIFFIN. 🔥
That dunk makes it Griffin’s third of the season after the two dunks he had against the Charlotte Hornets on November 28.
After the game, Griffin joked with Adam Himmelsbach that if he does that routinely, fans will stop being surprised when it happens.
“I figure if I dunk once a game, people will stop acting like it’s a miracle,” Griffin told Himmelsbach.
Blake: “I figure if I dunk once a game people will stop acting like it’s a miracle.”
Griffin finished the game with 13 points, eight rebounds, and two assists while shooting five-for-six from the field, including three-for-five from the free throw line. This included a putback layup by Griffin that put the Celtics up seven with 26.8 seconds to go which basically put the game out of reach for the Raptors to catch up.
Blake Griffin with the clutch putback, he’s been fantastic tonight.
With their win against the Raptors, the Celtics are 4-0 with Griffin as their starting center.
Griffin Says He’s Playing ‘Meaningful Basketball’
In an interview with Kristian Winfield of New York Daily News, Griffin delved into his choice to play for the Celtics.
“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.”
After not playing much for the Brooklyn Nets last season, Griffin spent the majority of the offseason as a free agent, so he believed that he was playing for a stable organization when the Celtics added him.
“You never know in this league,” Griffin said. “So I just wanted to give it another go. This seemed like a good situation, and it has been.”
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.”
While that has not been all too often, the Celtics have called on Griffin as their starting center for the last four games in which Horford has sat out. Griffin has played nine of the Celtics’ 25 games this season. In those nine games, he’s averaged 5.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.9 assists while shooting 56.7 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three.
Robert Williams ‘Pretty Close to Returning’
Interim head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters on December 4 that Robert Williams III is “pretty close” to making his season debut for the Celtics.
“He went through another session today. He’s progressing really well,” Mazzulla said. “Pretty close to returning, along with the timeline. It’s just a matter of getting him back conditioning-wise and making sure he’s comfortable and ready to go.”
Joe Mazzulla says Robert Williams is “pretty close to returning”
With Williams’ return on the horizon, the Celtics’ big man rotation will be going through some changes to make room for one of the team’s starters. This could mean Griffin’s role on the team will only lessen from here, but his production over the last few games has proven him as an asset.
The Celtics have done a superb job as a team without Williams, having won 20 of their first 25 games, but Williams could potentially make them even better, as he is coming off a season in which he made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.