After Epic Duel, Blake Griffin and DeMar DeRozan are Officially Superstars (w/Highlights)
Yeah, so the Western Conference has two superstars for every one the East has to offer. Shit, if they ever drop the 12-from-each-conference rule in the NBA All-Star Game, it could turn out even worse than 2:1.
But the East does have some guys — more than they get credit for.
One, DeMar DeRozan, is a bonafide superstar but gets boned cause he plays on the only team in a different country. Another, Blake Griffin, is new to the East and now plays on one of the least promoted teams in the NBA (Detroit). Oddly enough, they’re both products of the same NBA Draft Class (2009).
On Wednesday night, the two almost-superstars (depending who you ask) faced off in Detroit on national television — one of the few chances the Pistons will have this year to show the world their new star.
And it turned out to be epic.
It’s crazy to say that a Pistons/Raptors game was anything besides a snooze-fest, but it was dope on so many levels. I mean, the fact that I even wanted to watch it can be drawn directly to Blake. Take him off Detroit and it’s just another game where you check the box score later on. That in itself should put Blake closer to superstar-status — the ability to put butts in the seats and steal eyeballs from people with no real rooting interest.
Anyhow, the actual game was really something to treasure. There was pace, a butt-load of threes, and a guy from each team doing the heavy lifting. It was almost like, dare I say, a Western Conference game.
Like most NBA games, the lead had crazy swings. Detroit took a 14-point lead into halftime but blew it in the third quarter. Well, it was actually more Toronto kicking ass than Detroit blowing it, but yeah, the Raptors came back with a 40-point third quarter and led by one going into the fourth.
Fast forward to the final 20 seconds. From here, it was DeRozan versus Griffin — everyone else get the hell outta the way! DeRozan, channeling his inner-Mamba, broke a 109-109 tie with a 19-foot jumper. Blake followed by getting his defender in the air, rising up, drawing the foul, and sinking an eight-foot jumper. He made the free-throw, putting Detroit up 112-11 with 10 seconds left.
From there, DeRozan took the inbounds and blew past the entire Pistons team for the play of the game.
Roll the tape:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgDBNEBBdsf/?taken-by=slackiebrown
Yeah, that was wild, but Blake would answer back again to tie the game at 114-114.
Following a Toronto turnover, there were 0.3 seconds on the clock. What followed was something that ESPN analyst Hubie Brown had “never seen before in an NBA game”. Detroit, now with possession again, tried to do that alley-oop thing from out-of-bounds but failed miserably. The ball flew way over Andre Drummond’s big head and it was Toronto’s turn to try the same thing. Yup, they fucked it up too. Just like Drummond, the pass soared over Jonas Valanciunas’ dome and landed in the fourth row. Detroit decided not to embarrass themselves again, settling for overtime.
Cue the same exact god damn situation as before: Griffin vs. DeRozan Part II.
Tied 116-116 with less than two minutes left, DeRozan converted both parts of an and-one to put the Raptors up 119-116. Blake, now with 28 points, bombed a three-ball from the top of the key to put Detroit back even.
DeRozan missed his next shot, setting Blake up for a hero moment. He called for a clear-out, but when the double-team came, he made a nice pass to a wide-open Reggie Bullock beyond the arc. Bullock fucked it up, of course, barely hitting the rim and giving the Raptors a chance at the last shot.
After grabbing the rebound, DeRozan raced down the court in hopes of another jam session. But instead of forcing a bad shot when the defense collapsed, DeMar made a nifty pass to Fred VanVleet in the corner. Unlike Reggie Bullock, VanVleet banged the trey which essentially secured the win for Toronto.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgDH7QLn_E-/?tagged=vanvleet
(Blake had 1.1 seconds to catch and shoot a three but missed as time expired.)
Final: Toronto 121, Detroit 119
This shit was crrrrazy. Let’s hope these two teams meet in the postseason. The world needs another Blake/DeRozan shootout.
For those keeping score at home, the pair combined for 73 points — DeRozan (42), Griffin (31).
Oh yeah, they’re both now officially superstars in my eyes. Tough noogies.