from Bleacher Report

Flop City. Flop Flop City. The ringing taunt grew louder and louder as the Clippers turned heel over the course of one season. “Lob City” was how the Clips were sold, “Flop City” was how they came to be loathed.

Blake Griffin suffered a dramatic drop in approval rating, due to his acting tendencies. It was not unusual to see Blake drive, fall and roll around as though electrocuted by swarming, invisible eels. People grew tired of the flopping and it seeped into the assessment of Griffin. Whispers of “overrated” and “regressing” abounded, despite consistently fine play.

Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN put it like this:

Griffin’s first season was one of pure affection, but the only thing we enjoy more than falling in love with a star is falling out of love with him. Last season, fans wallpapered the Internet with his highlights, but lately Griffin is being seen through a different lens. We still get breathless whenever he gets loose above the rim, but that anticipation brings with it the growing feeling that what was deemed basketball perfection less than a year ago has evolved into something else.

I’m not sure what the expectations were for Blake Griffin, because I did not share in the collective disappointment. Blake is not far away from being a top-five player, and he did show progress toward such an eventuality.
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so i have updated the Gallery with the latest pics of the Clippers trip to china
there are approximately 16 pics in total
click the thumbnails to view them all

so the Clippers have arrived in China for some pre season games. Ive added 22 pics of Blake from his arrival in Beijing, a trip up the Great Wall and also from their first training session

from LA Times

Clippers forward Blake Griffin has worked with shooting coach Bob Thate to eliminate a hitch before he releases ball. But it was still there in preseason opener.

The hitch is not in Blake Griffin’s giddy-up, but in his shooting motion.

Just as the Clippers’ star forward is about to release the ball, he pauses, a hiccup he has tried to stop by working with the team’s new shooting coach, Bob Thate.

During warmups before the Clippers’ 106-104 exhibition loss against Denver on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Griffin’s shooting release looked smoother than before.

But during the game, the holdup in his release reappeared when Griffin went to the free-throw line, where he shot 52% last season. He missed his first four attempts, each hitting the back of the rim.

After his first game-type situation with his tinkered shooting release, Griffin, who made his final two free-throw attempts, was upbeat.

“I was somewhat OK with it because I was missing long,” said Griffin, who scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds in 22 minutes “I don’t want to miss short. Missing short is bad for me, missing long is OK.

“But as far as the first-game speed and all that, I think it was OK. I think I’ll be much better. I’ve just got to keep working. I haven’t made it by any means.”

In some early season drama, the Clippers fell at the buzzer to the Denver Nuggets in Las Vegas, 106-104. Eric Bledsoe had 25 pts, 8 rbs and 5 stls.
Ive added 13 pics of Blake to the gallery. Click the thumbnails to view them all.

From the Examiner

Blake Griffin had a few things to say about the news that the NBA is going to be cracking down on flopping. The All-Star forward spoke to the media after a team scrimmage at the Galen Center on Wednesday and while he shared his thoughts on his performance, he received a fair share of questions about the new flopping penalties that will enforce fines and maybe even more for players who flop excessively during a game.

According to the NBA, officials will take a look at questionable calls after games and issue subsequent penalties. Players will get a warning the first time, fined $5,000 for a second violation, $10,000 for the third time, $15,000 for a fourth and $30,000 for the fifth, with a potential suspension after the sixth (or more) offense.

I guess it’s good in a sense that it stops [flopping] from happening, but at the same time, you’re telling me, it’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals, a guy has a chance to make a play, is he going to be like, “well, do I want this $10,000 [fine] or do I want a championship? It’s one of those things that’s after the fact, and it’s not going to win or lose games for anybody, so you know, it’s a good way for the NBA to get more money.”

On the lighter side, Griffin also got a chance to talk about his amazing one armed cross court shot. With Caron Butler awaiting a potential bomb, Griffin flinged the ball like he was Aaron Rodgers from a three-quarters of a court distance and made the shot in one try. He claims to try the shot at least once after every practice but fail miserably.

The Clippers will play their first preseason game against the Denver Nuggets in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay on Oct. 6. They will then travel to China to face Miami Heat for the 2012 NBA China Games.

Added 5 pics of Blake from the GQ & Hennessy October Cover Party With Chris Paul

ive added 32 pics of Blake form the recent LA Clippers Media Day. Click the thumbnails below to view them all.

from nba.com

Blake Griffin spent more than 10 minutes surrounded by cameras and reporters at the interview table during Clippers Media Day, but in a matter of seconds he put to rest any concerns about his surgically repaired left knee.

“I feel great. I’m ready to go,” Griffin said. “I don’t have any restrictions, which was what I pretty much hoped for and knew it was coming, but in the back of my mind it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

Griffin underwent surgery in July to repair a medial meniscus tear, and has been back on the court for several weeks.

He spent a significant portion of the summer, along with frontcourt mate DeAndre Jordan, under the tutelage of new Clippers shooting coach Bob Thate. While Griffin improved his field goal percentage in year two (50.6% in 2010-11 to 54.9% last season), his free throw numbers unexpectedly fell. The two-time All-Star said his time with Thate was divided between work on the perimeter and the line.
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