Blake Griffin Out Indefinitely: Are the Clippers a Possible Destination for Stoudemire?
By William Lee
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne Los Angeles Clippers superstar Blake Griffin has a staph infection and will undergo surgery on his right elbow. Griffin is listed as out indefinitely with expectations to miss 4-6 weeks.
Details on Blake Griffin's elbow surgery-- the staph infection is in the elbow he has drained. Initial projection is 4-6 weeks, per sources
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 8, 2015
Earlier this week there had been reports of Amare Stoudemire re-evaluating his status with New York, and may weigh his options on a potential buyout deal. Rumors then surfaced that the Dallas Mavericks would be considered the frontrunners if a buyout occurred. Now with the news of Griffin being sidelined indefinitely, with the potential to miss over a month, would Stoudemire be a good fit in Los Angeles?
The Clippers are currently 33-18, which is good for sixth in the Western Conference. Los Angeles only has a six game lead over the ninth place New Orleans Pelicans, who are dealing with an injury to their own superstar. Anthony Davis hurt his right shoulder on a hard fall where he could not brace himself after an alley oop dunk. Nipping on the heels of the Pelicans, that the Clippers also have to worry about are the Oklahoma City Thunder. Thunder are now healthy and are only three games back from the eighth seeded Phoenix Sun.
The Western Conference is so tightly packed that Los Angeles cannot give up any ground; the Clippers will need to shore up Griffin’s position during his absence if they are to reach their aspirations of a Championship run. Right now Doc Rivers has Spencer Hawes, Glen Davis, and Hedo Turkoglu to work with. Turkoglu who is about to turn 36 years old in a month is not really much of an option nowadays, being a shell of himself. Davis left Sunday’s game with back spasm, and Rivers has not trusted Hawes all season.
Glen Davis being helped off court and taken to locker room. Looks like another serious injury for Clippers.
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) February 8, 2015
Can Stoudemire be the Short-term Solution?
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If you just watched SportsCenter highlights, you would think that Stoudemire and Griffin’s game are just dunking the ball. Both their games are quite different though, especially with Griffin’s evolution in his mid-range game. As per NBA Savant, 44.74% of Griffin’s offense is mid-range jumpers. As compared to Stoudemire, the mid-range shot is only 18.94% of Amare’s arsenal. Where Stoudemire does most of his damage is in the restricted area, attacking the paint makes up 61.13% of his offense, whereas Griffin is only taking 38.37% of his shots from the restricted area. This is way down compared to his prior year, a decrease of 9.09%, where Griffin took 47.46% of his shots in the restricted area in 2013-2014.
Playing alongside DeAndre Jordan, who plays 33.5 minutes per game this season, it was only natural for Griffin to improve his mid-range game to provide better spacing for the Clippers’ offense. Griffin is converting on 37% of his shots within 10-14 ft. and 41% of his shots within 15-19 ft. as per NBA.com. Now Stoudemire is not as efficient as Blake Griffin is in these areas of the floor, nor does he attempt as much mid-range shots, but Stoudemire is capable of filling in temporary. Stoudemire is only 26.7% on shots within 10-14 ft. but is only 1.6% worse than Griffin within 15-19 ft. of shooting, converting 39.4% of his shots within 15-19 ft. as per NBA.com. This is good news because 15-19 ft. is where Griffin takes a majority of his jump shots; this area of the floor makes up 27.3% of Griffin’s offense. With such little disparity between Griffin and Stoudemire in this crucial area of the floor, it keeps the floor spacing the same for Los Angeles.
If Stoudemire does decide to reach a buyout agreement with New York, Clippers should take a look at Amare to temporary fill in during Griffin’s recovery time. Even when Griffin returns, Stoudemire can still give good minutes off the bench, and mimic what Griffin does on offense, floor spacing wise anyways…we all know Stoudemire can never replace Griffin’s passing ability from the forward position. When Griffin returns, Stoudemire may be a key role contributor off the bench in Los Angeles’ Playoffs run.