How Blake Griffin plans to keep respect of Celtics fans after warm welcome in debut

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/how-blake-griffin-plans-to-keep-respect-of-celtics-fans-after-warm-welcome-in-debut.html



How Blake Griffin plans to keep respect of Celtics fans after warm welcome in debut


Published: Oct. 19, 2022, 10:44 a.m.


By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com


BOSTON — It was a raucous atmosphere at TD Garden on Tuesday night as the Celtics opened up their season against a division rival in the 76ers. Despite a highly entertaining matchup filled with intensity and several highlight sequences, one of the biggest cheers from the Garden crowd came late in the first quarter when Blake Griffin made his debut as a member of the Celtics on the parquet.

MassLive caught up with Griffin after the win and asked whether he was taken aback by the massive ovation in his debut.


“I definitely appreciated that,” Griffin said. “One thing about this crowd, you got keep their respect by playing hard. If you do that and do the little things, they will appreciate you here. You don’t have to score 50 or be JT or JB. If you contribute to this team in a winning way, they appreciate you and that’s what I appreciate about them.”

Griffin’s own box score line backed up that assessment as he scored just one point in eight minutes but grabbed five boards, tying him for the second most on the team. Griffin acknowledged he was still working his way back into top form after signing with Boston a week into training camp. He suited up for two preseason games and saw a bigger chunk of the bench big minutes go to Noah Vonleh over him as Boston tried to deal with the size of Joel Embiid up front.

“Conditioning-wise, just trying to figure out a new team and all that,” Griffin said of his outing. “I feel great. (The training staff) have done a great job. It’s just about time. I felt good out there but I can go to another level for sure.”


In the meantime, Griffin is just enjoying watching his young All-Star teammates look like they are in midseason form against a potential contender in Philadelphia.

“You can see it everyday in practice. They are ready to go,” Griffin explained. “They take this crap very seriously. They are on a mission.”

It was a similar refrain to Griffin’s comments raving about his new teammates last week at the Shamrock Foundation.

“The first thing I really realized right away is how serious this team is and how mature this team is and how much they care about winning,” Griffin said via NBC Sports Boston. “If you heard everyone speak right here, they talk about working, building a foundation and getting to that point. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with a lot of good players and been on some good teams. Every team in the NBA wants to emulate the result of success, not every time wants to emulate the process of achieving success.


“That’s the thing I’ve noticed about this team. I’ve only been here 10 days but every day, these guys come to practice — it starts at the top with JT, JB, Marcus, Al — when they come to practice, there’s a purpose. You’d probably be surprised to know in the NBA, that doesn’t happen everyday. That’s been eye-opening and refreshing and I’m here to be a part of that and help that.”

With the Celtics set to face opponents with smaller front lines this weekend, starting with the Miami Heat, it will be intriguing to see how much Griffin figures into Boston’s rotation going forward as he ramps up his conditioning more. Boston’s formula of playing smaller worked well in the opener and Griffin’s offensive skillset could help the team continue to maximize their potential on that end.


Bob
MY NOTE:  Rebound, take charges (he led the league last year in charges taken), play gritty defense and you'll be good, Blake.

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