Blake Griffin has been unstoppable for most of the playoffs, averaging 25 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists while playing 41 minutes per game. He was fantastic in the Clippers' first-round series against the Spurs and was the reason Los Angeles won Game 1 in Houston to start the second round.
How the Rockets stopped Blake Griffin by going small
By putting the smaller Trevor Ariza on Blake Griffin and helping constantly, the Rockets took the Clippers’ superstar out of the game.
Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
On Wednesday, it looked like he was going to lead his team to victory once again. He was doing it all, notching 30 points, 10 rebounds and three assists on 12-of-18 shooting entering the final quarter. But in the fourth quarter, he scored only four points on five shots and tallied one assist. The Rockets went on complete their comeback and tie the series.
Griffin has struggled all playoffs in the fourth quarter. Even without counting yesterday's performance, his field goal percentage falls all the way to 27 percent in the final frame and he takes fewer shots. That's in part because Chris Paul takes over games at that point and in part due to exhaustion, since Griffin doesn't get much rest on a Clippers team lacking depth.
On Wednesday, Griffin did look tired. At the same time, the Rockets deserve most of the credit for rendering him irrelevant late.
Houston made a key adjustment. The Rockets went small and put Trevor Ariza on Griffin to prevent him from hurting them with his ball handling and quickness like he had for the better part of two games. The move took the Clippers by surprise, and their offense came to a halt. First, they tried to force switches, which the Rockets were happy to concede because they could use their other players to help.
Then, as Los Angeles looked to force the ball to Griffin inside against a smaller player, they fronted and zoned up away from the ball, taking their chances on Matt Barnes or Austin Rivers hurting them instead of Blake.
After that, the Rockets grew bolder. They had Dwight Howard essentially play free safety, overloading the strong side and leaving DeAndre Jordan open.
The Clippers had to labor to get the ball to Griffin, and even when they did, someone always was ready to help. Look at all the movement they needed, only to end up with a jump ball.
The adjustment was designed to force any Clipper but Griffin to beat Houston, and it worked to perfection. Rivers and Jamal Crawford combined for 14 points, but James Harden took over and the Rockets went on a 17-6 run that put them in control for the entire fourth quarter. When Doc Rivers tried to adjust by going small and intentionally fouling Howard, Kevin McHale replaced him with Terrence Jones and tasked Harden with attacking the unprotected rim.
This isn't strategy the Rockets can sustain for an entire game without the Clippers finding a way to exploit it, but the fact that Houston found a way to contain Griffin and hide some of its weaknesses is huge. Neither Jones nor Josh Smith have been a match for Griffin on either side of the court, and there is no quality backup for Howard. This new option allows the Rockets to go with four perimeter players and only one big man on the court for long stretches. If last game is any indication, Jones can act as the center in those small lineups when Howard needs rest or the Clippers are intentionally fouling him.
The Rockets were at risk of falling to a likely insurmountable 0-2 hole. That sense of urgency forced them to take some chances and get creative, and it worked.
Now, it will be the Clippers’ time to figure out a counter. Until they do, expect the Rockets to continue putting Ariza on Griffin and forcing other Clippers to beat them.
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