Clippers’ Blake Griffin: Playing with Paul, Billups ‘unbelievable’
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After a 114-95 victory over the Lakers, Blake Griffin sat in the Clippers locker room with his legs in a bucket of ice and said, ‘Going into every game, you hope for a game like that.’
The Lakers and Clippers play in the same gym and practice about five miles away from one another, yet there has never been a rivalry. The Lakers have won 16 NBA championships while the Clippers have won 16 fewer than that.
Even though the nearly 20-point win was in a meaningless preseason game, it shows Griffin that the Clippers have great potential this season.
‘We’re definitely capable,’ he said.
Griffin had 12 points and five rebounds, including one monster dunk that led to a technical foul seemingly because it was too powerful but technically because he lingered in space for a bit too long.
‘I’m going to try and get one every game,’ Griffin said jokingly of technicals.
Although Griffin acknowledged that his team had much to improve upon, he said he was feeling really positive about how the Clippers were gelling and what it will be like to share a uniform with recently acquired four-time all-star point guard Chris Paul and five-time all-star guard Chauncey Billups.
Having them on the court has already taken a lot of pressure off of him. Billups scored a game-high 23 points while Paul had 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
‘Just the way they command attention on the floor,’ Griffin said. ‘You can’t leave them alone.
‘You saw Chauncey hit big shots, and Chris, the way he handles the ball and passes, it’s just unbelievable.’
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--Melissa Rohlin
