Of the basketball heads I know, only a handful were not watching the World Series opener. Many missed out on the debut of Blake Griffin. Here's what went down if you were watching ESPN. Oklahoma City put the finishing touches on a hard fought victory over Chicago. The Bulls had two or three bad calls against them, but playing 2.5 on 4 is just not going to win games. The 2.5? Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah (what a defensive performance), and half of Taj Gibson. The Thunder had Ibaka, Durant, Sefolosha's defense, and Westbrook. Game ends. Thunder win. Durant gives a brief post-game interview and says nice things about Derrick Rose.
The Clippers game comes on. It's about three minutes in and (I think) Hubie Brown says something about how it has not been an entertaining game. Just after this, Randy Foye puts up what at first looks like a terrible shot and Blake Griffin goes up. Griffin snags the ball probably 15 inches above the basket with his right hand and slams it in with what can best be described as almighty fury. This basket is Blake Griffin's first in the NBA. Over the next few minutes, he put on a display with Chris Kaman of thunderous jam after thunderous jam. Griffin's first NBA basket actually made me yell "oh shit!" in my apartment so loudly that I may have woken my neighbors in nearby buildings.
Witness:
The Clippers went on to lose, despite Griffin's might on the offensive glass and his twenty points. Why did the Clippers lose? Well, they aren't nearly as deep as the Blazers. Further, Baron Davis takes bad shots early in the shot clock. Vinnie Del Negro is probably not the kind of coach who can rein Davis in - if he tries, Davis will likely pout and shut down. Baron Davis is the life and death of this Clippers team... which is too bad, because the Clips could have a shot at the playoffs.
At least we'll get to witness the almighty fury of Blake Griffin.
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