Milestone in the career of Blake Griffin: All star weekend

We don’t always envy the previous generations. They didn’t have wide access to some of the basic amenities, electronics, transport and other facilities which we take for granted. But they had a few things which make me feel that we kids have missed out on a good thing.

Besides musing for living in the good old days and leading a simpler and slower life, I regret not having watched some of the greatest to ever play the game in their prime.

Jordan’s tongue wag. Missed it.

Bird routinely out-thinking the opposition. Missed it.

Isiah hobbling on a broken ankle and still scoring. Missed it.

One, two, cup, lean, shake, step and switch. Iverson. Missed it.

Having missed out on Larry Bird, Jerry West, Jordan, Isiah, Iverson and many others in their prime is something many other Indians can identify with, as we didn’t have full coverage of a lot of matches on TV. Internet was a 10 kbps dial up connection, on a good day, when it did connect. About 10 years ago, I remember downloading a 27 mb game demo of THPS 2. It took a month to download. One month for a 27 mb file. Back then, watching a match online was beyond comprehension. Even today, its not all roses and gravy.

Like an old man with a feeble memory reminiscing on his glory days, all we are left with is youtube footage of the greatest players of all time. The magic is watered down a bit when you relive it through highlights, because you know what you are going to watch. It’s another thing altogether to watch history write itself on the court by unique talents.

This year we get to watch about 4-5 matches per week on TV in India, on PIX and Ten Sports. Broadband connection allows us to catch up on those matches which aren’t aired on TV. Its a good time to follow the careers of future legends in the making. As if on cue, a new guy has entered the league and people are already saying that he can be the greatest player ever to play at his position (power forward).

Slaamm Dunk! Oh me oh my! What a play!

The above exclamation is heard often in Staples Center by Ralph Lawler, Clippers announcer, after Blake Griffin throws it down. Blake has has otherworldly athleticism, and even that’s an understatement. To to quote his teammate, “He jumps like Hancock”. On a photo shoot, the photographer asked him to pose with a jump, and Blake jumped clear out of his frame. Its not just his athleticism which guarantees that he’ll be a hall of fame talent, its his impeccable work ethic and his deep rooted desire to be the best player he can be. He missed out on his rookie season last year owing to a injury, and had to fester on the sidelines as his team lost game after game. Turning that into a positive, he’d practice shots perched on a chair when he couldn’t jump. He spent a year honing skills which a player might not work on when at full strength. It’s all borne fruit, as now he’s dropping bank shots like Tim Duncan and spinning into one hand hook shots from all angles, all of which is beyond what you can expect from a rookie.

As a rookie, he is already a double double machine. He has had two 40 point games. His team has beaten the Lakers, Heat, Bulls, Spurs and Hornets. His highlights in the first half of a season are as expansive as the highlights of many player’s careers.

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Welcome to Blake's poster, too awesome to be contained in the normal article space

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We are lucky to get to watch a once in a generation talent mature in front of our eyes. For anyone with even a passing interest in basketball, the next two days will give you a chance to witness something you can talk to your kids about, Blake Griffin’s first all star weekend. Tomorrow he’ll take part in the dunk contest on All-star Saturday (on Ten Sports 7 AM). Anticipation is off the charts for what he can pull out in front of the LA crowd, if his in game dunks are any indication he’ll easily win the contest.

Here is what LeBron James to say on Blake Griffin in the dunk contest: “His explosiveness is higher than mine’s ever been. You’d put your house up for sale to say Blake Griffin is going to win.”

On Monday, Blake will be among the Western Conference reserves in the all-star game, a rare honour for a rookie. Blake Griffin is the first rookie to have made the all-star team since Yao Ming was voted in by the fans and the first to have been chosen by the coaches since Tim Duncan. This marks the moment he becomes even more of a household name by participating in the heavily publicized all-star weekend. For a change, we can follow his entire career now, and tomorrow marks a milestone.