Blake Griffin's time with the Detroit Pistons has been a rollercoaster ride, to say the least. His first full season in Motor City was great. In the 2018-2019 campaign, he was named as an All-Star again for the first time in three years. He averaged a career-high 24.5 points per game and was key in bringing the Pistons back to the NBA Playoffs.
Last season, however, the former Slam Dunk champion had another injury-plagued season as two knee surgeries limited him to just 18 games.
But now, it seems that the 31-year-old has slowly gotten back into shape as he looks to lead the highly revamped Pistons. His coach Dwane Casey for one is excited, gushing about Griffin in an interview with NBA.com.
“He (Griffin) did a lot of work this summer to strengthen his legs. He’s back to being the Blake of old. We’re excited about that. We know he’s been putting in the work. All the naysayers, all of that stuff, he’s back to being the Blake of old.”
Griffin last played on December 28, 2019. But with a full year of rehabilitation and with Motown heavily leaning on his leadership and experience, he seems to be locked and loaded this season.
Another superstar the Pistons will be relying on is Derrick Rose. He produced solid numbers off the bench in his first stint with the squad last season and Casey said the former MVP and Griffin look really healthy heading into training camp.
“We’re going to two-a-days (practices on Monday night) and both guys are a go. That’s the exciting part. You have those two players back and contributing and the younger group, it’s a good mixture.”
Griffin and Rose are among the only four players returning with the Pistons this season as they hope to have a clean slate and head back into the NBA Playoffs.
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