Yahoo Finance Blake Griffin says he'll make debut Monday, help improve defensive communication
Blake Griffin confirmed reports he would make his season debut by telling it straight after practice on Sunday.
“I’m playing tomorrow,” the Detroit Pistons’ six-time All-Star told reporters, via James Edwards at The Athletic.
Griffin has missed the first 10 games due to knee soreness and a hamstring issue. He had he was cleared for basketball activities late last week and will debut Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves at home.
Griffin will be on a minutes restriction, per the Detroit Free Press. When he finds out that number, he said he’ll “put that in my mind and do what I can in those minutes."
The Pistons are 4-6 without Griffin — though they’ve yet to win back-to-back games — as Andre Drummond has led the way averaging 21.9 points 18.6 rebounds, a league high. They could use Griffin, who had 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in his first season in Detroit last year.
They could also use him in more ways than statistics. He told the Free Press the team’s defensive struggles are due to poor communication on the floor that he believes his return will help correct.
"Everybody's out there with [their] mouth closed and that's not going to get it done," he said. "But I've also seen some good things, things you may not see when you're playing, some tendencies where guys like (the ball), where they seem most comfortable. Hopefully, it will help when I come back. It's a different vantage point, for sure."
Griffin also noted his role is to make everyone around him better and not necessarily packing the score sheet.
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