On Friday the Brooklyn Nets had to pull out a chippy 113-111 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons. It was Nets’ newly acquired star Blake Griffin’s first trip back to Detroit since being bought out by the Pistons and signing with the Nets.
Griffin has all of a sudden turned back the hands of time and reverted to his old ways of being a dunking machine. He dunked for the first time since 2019 in his Nets debut against the Washington Wizards last Sunday night and on Friday he caught a disgusting alley-oop lob from James Harden.
The latter dunk had a lot more meaning for Griffin than the former.
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Blake Griffin Sons His Former Team
With eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Griffin caught a lob pass from Harden to put the Nets up by 10 points.
As he is coming up the floor after the dunk if you can read lips you can see the six-time All-Star staring down the bench of his former team and yelling at them “I still got it.”
Griffin was reportedly bought out by the Pistons because the team wanted to work on developing some of their younger talents and having a well-seasoned star like Griffin on their roster would almost certainly get in the way of that.
“I STILL GOT IT!” Blake Griffin alley-oop 💥💥💥
(🎥 via @YESNetwork)
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Harden & Griffin’s Chemistry Builds More Each Game
The Harden and Griffin connection is already starting to pay dividends and their chemistry and rapport build, even more, each time they step on the court together.
Harden spoke on his and Griffin’s quick development as teammates after the win over the Pistons.
“He just makes the game so easy for you,” Harden said of his newest teammate via NetsDaily.
Harden and Griffin’s chemistry has become more of a pressing issue as of late as both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have been out during the Nets short three-game road trip.
“And draws so much attention. At the same time, you look at his assist numbers——they’re unbelievable as well. Playing against him, it was always kind of one of those things where you hope to slow him down,” Harden continued.
James Harden discusses tonight’s chippy game vs. Detroit:
“We’re ready for that, we’re built for that, and that’s what we’re about. That right there is going to put us over the top”
Harden also talks about the chemistry he’s built with Blake Griffin so far
Griffin who many people thought was finished after being traded to the Detroit Pistons, has found new water in Brooklyn. The former slam dunk champion perhaps has found himself in the perfect situation with the Nets. He is still a superstar but is not being required to perform like one regularly, which alleviates a lot of the pressure off the six-time All-Star’s shoulders.
“And now playing with him, you really appreciate playing with guys like that because most of my shots are just ‘be ready,’ and he does a great job of finding you. It’s not something I take for granted.”
For the Brooklyn Nets to capture the franchise’s first NBA title, Griffin will have to be a major part of the team’s success.
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Blake Griffin Sends Message To Pistons Bench After Filthy Dunk [WATCH]