Blake Griffin is now officially a Detroit Piston. After scoring his first points in his first game for Detroit Thursday night, Griffin received a standing ovation from his teammates and a loud roar of approval from the hometown crowd.
Technically, he already was a Piston the moment that they had a press conference for him and his teammates that were traded along with him. But it’s still not as official as when he scored his first bucket for his new team and the box score showed that he has a statistic under his belt.
During a play in the first quarter, Griffin drove down the middle of the lane guarded by Grizzlies power forward Jarell Martin. The tough, physical play caused Griffin to shoot an awkward, circus shot but the ball went in anyway after it banked off the glass with still 10:37 left to play in the quarter.
With his first points out of the way, Griffin was on fire for the Pistons, leading the team in scoring at the half with 13 points along with seven rebounds, two assists, and a block. The Pistons and the Grizzlies are tied 51-51 heading into the third quarter.
Based on his demeanor and some of his responses during the press conference the other day, the University of Oklahoma alum was noticeably displeased with the way he was traded. Additionally, his friends said that he was “intensely sad” about being traded away from Los Angeles, the only city he has known as his NBA hometown since he was drafted.
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