Boston Celtics: 3 reasons Blake Griffin is a fantastic signing
By Seth Quinn
Reason No. 2 Blake Griffin is a fantastic signing for the Boston Celtics: Hustle
A key part of Boston Celtics culture that fans have come to know and love over the years and has contributed heavily to their championship pedigree is hustle. A specific kind of hustle that comes to mind for many NBA fans is the ability to take a charge.
Last season Derrick White was tied for second in the entire NBA with 25 charges, while Marcus Smart was not far behind him in the overall NBA charge rankings with 16 charges on the season. Two players tied for first ahead of Derrick White, one being Kevin Love, and the other being Blake Griffin, with 26 charges drawn each.
While leading the NBA in charges drawn is impressive within itself, the veteran big man managed to do that in just 56 games, while playing less than 1000 minutes. Comparing that to all the other players with 25+ charges (the next highest player has 19 charges), Griffin has 707 fewer minutes played than the next lowest player (Kevin Love), and 7 fewer games played than the next lowest player (Kyle Lowry).
Even if the former Brooklyn Net struggles to contribute in the main stat categories, he has proven capable of making hustle plays and putting his body on the line to help his team win, which is something any Celtics fan and player can appreciate having on the roster.