Comparing Golden State Warriors’ Roster to Los Angeles Clippers’ Roster
By Mike Dill
Power Forward
Warriors: David Lee, Marreese Speights, Draymond Green
Clippers: Blake Griffin, Byron Mullins
January 2, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center Festus Ezeli (31, left) commits a flagrant foul on Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (32, center) as Warriors power forward David Lee (10) defends during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Clippers 115-94. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The power forward position is pretty evenly matched. Blake Griffin and David Lee are two of the best power forwards in the league.
Griffin is known for his dunks – he dunked more than anyone else last season. Lee is known for his double doubles – more than anyone else last season.
As much as Warriors fans love to praise Lee, he is a huge liability on the defensive side of the ball. Griffin is younger, more explosive and isn’t a slouch on defense. He is the better player, but the power forward matchups are still fun to watch at Warriors-Clippers games.
Lee isn’t very athletic, so his playing style is much different than Griffin’s. Lee can shoot with either hand and has decent range on his jump shot, while Griffin is all about power and his jump shot is still in the developmental stages.
Backups Marreese Speights and Byron Mullins are also quite different. Mullins should probably be a center given his height, but the Clippers will use him at power forward. He isn’t a bad rebounder and has a bit of an outside shot.
Speights has a very good jump shot for a big man, but the problem lies in the rest of his game He can rebound, but he is going to have to prove himself on the Warriors.
Edge: Clippers