Is This The Clippers City Now?

Just days after LeBron James did his best human pogo stick imitation over Bulls guard John Lucas, III, Blake Griffin may have sent Thunder Center Kendrick Perkins into therapy.

During the third quarter of the Clippers-Thunder game on Monday night, the reigning NBA Slam Dunk champion rose up and “Mozgov’d” Kendrick Perkins–drawing comparisons to his domination of then-Knicks center Timofey Mozgov in 2010 and LeBron’s dunk from the other night.

Watch the clip and tell us if this isn’t the dunk of the year so far.

Was the Mozgov dunk nastier?

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L.A. Clippers forward Blake Griffin shares some of his workout secrets responsible for making him such a formidable opponent on the court and how he rises above the competition.

On maintaining his energy level…

“Energy is something you can control. In everything you do, you’re going to face people more talented than you.  I set myself apart by bringing more energy than they do.”

His dunking skills…

“I constantly heard that all I do is dunk…And I can understand it. There aren’t SportsCenter clips of me shooting 15-foot­ers.”

His most proud game from last season against the Pacers…

“Most of my baskets came from midrange jumpers…I was the finesse player peo­ple said I couldn’t be. I’m excited to show how I’ve added to that part of my game.”

How he recovers  from injury…

“There were days when I didn’t feel like going through the same routine…But I learned that if you’re positive, any situ­ation can be a chance to improve yourself.”

The importance of being a team player…

“I recently got to talk to Magic John­son…He said he used to tell individual teammates, ‘Come in before practice and work with me.’ He emphasized that being a leader isn’t about just pushing yourself. It’s also about motivating teammates.”

The Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Men’s Health Magazine is on newsstands now.

What a comfortable man he is…

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In the clip below Griffin says that he likes to listen to Jay-Z and Kanye’s “H.A.M.” before going out on the court and NBA guard Brandon Jennings says he wants to dunk on Kim Kardashian.

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While many conceded that Griffin was the runaway favorite, JaValee McGee, DeMar DeRosen, and Serge Ibaka gave the Blake show a run for his money. They brought an array of creative dunks that included slamming on two hoops at once, biting teddy bears off the rim and dunking from the foul line. But in the end it was Griffins raw power that edged out the competition.

Griffin dedicated the win to his friend Wilson Holloway who died this week of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Watch the final round below courtesy of MrWorldPremiere.net.

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It seems that The Clippers Blake Griffin was practicing for his Slam Dunk contest appearance tonight but the bounce-pass from Wall was the highlight of the game.

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According to ESPN, Griffin had been a big supporter of Holloway’s battle. When Holloway, 22, was nominated for the 2010 Rare Disease Champion award a year ago, Griffin tweeted to his 50,000-plus followers: “My boy @Wilson Holloway is up 4 The Rare Disease Champion Award and he needs ur vote.”

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Griffin could not be immediately reached for comment, but Clippers spokesperson Rob Raichlen told ESPNLosAngeles.com that his plans for All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles will not change. He is scheduled to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday and play in the All-Star Game on Sunday.

For more on Griffin and Holloway’s friendship go to ESPN.com

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4. JaVale McGee

This is my dark horse, as every dunk contest has one. McGee’s dunks are effortless whether it is at the end of an alley oop pass from John Wall or all alone in the paint. He gets so high over the rim he can surely do a lot of creative things in the contest.

3. J.R. Smith

Anyone that does a 360 in-game dunk off an alley oop pass needs to try that in a dunk contest. Even though he didn’t do well in his past appearance, his Tom Chambers-esque (see the old Lakers vs. Celtics video game) dunk over the San Antonio Spurs Gary Neal is proof he needs to give the contest another try.

2. LeBron James

After declaring during the 2009 All Star weekend that he would be in the 2010 contest, James was a no-show on the court in Dallas that Saturday night. He has been contemplating entering this year’s competition but has said to be having second thoughts due to wear and tear on his body. Like driving the lane getting slapped and bumped while finishing those and 1 baskets, taking off in the open court for a reverse double pump slam and catching alley oop dunks from Dwayne Wade isn’t wear and tear on those 26 year-old legs? Bottom line LeBron needs to enter the contest because a) all the high flying superstars in the league have taken part at one point during the beginning or prime of their careers: Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, etc., b) the world wants to see James in a dunk contest, and c) he promised (but that doesn’t mean anything to Cleveland fans).

1. Blake Griffin

The consensus rookie of the year without question has amassed at least one dunk highlight per game this season. The throw in dunk on Knicks rookie center Timofey Mozgov and the spinning one handed dunk on Danilo Gallinari alone should stamp his ticket in the competition. 

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VIA TIME:

Damn you, tall people. They block your view at the movie theater. They’re a pain to shop for: Who really wants to drag themselves to the Big & Tall to buy Uncle Lurch a pair of extra-long pants? They’re the ones with better chances of becoming pro basketball players, or supermodels.

Squirts probably don’t need any more reasons to envy their longer-limbed neighbors. Unfortunately, a new study just added to the indignity of short people. According to a paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, both men and women who are above average height — 5 ft. 10 in. for males, 5 ft. 4 in. for females — report higher levels of happiness than smaller people.

In the study, men who call their lives the “worst possible” are nearly an inch shorter than the average man. The women most down in the dumps are half an inch smaller, on average, than the average woman. Taller people say they are more content, and are less likely to report a range of negative emotions like sadness and physical pain. “Happiness is just one more thing that taller people have going for them,” says Angus Deaton, a Princeton economist and co-author of the study, who stands a smug 6 ft. 4 in. (Full disclosure: I, too, am about 6 ft. 4 in., but I will refrain from mocking shrimps in this story.)

Why are tall people happier? According to Deaton’s analysis, the result is linked to education and income. The study found that taller people tend to have more education, and thus higher income levels, than shorter people. It follows that the smarter, richer tall people would be sunnier than their vertically challenged compatriots. “Money buys enjoyment and higher life evaluation,” says Deaton. “It buys off stress, anger, worry and pain. Income is the thing!”

To gain some real-world insight into these stats, I called the first smart short person I could think of, a friend named Milton Lee. Despite what these studies indicate, smart short people do exist. Milt, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, made a killing as a Wall Street trader in the 1990s, but quit finance to chase his dream of becoming a basketball coach. He has trained many NBA players, including this year’s top draft pick, Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin, and even landed an assistant coaching gig for the Los Angeles Clippers’ summer-league team.

To know more on why taller is supposedly better, please click here to read the full story!

Tuesday afternoon, consensus number one overall pick Blake Griffin took some time to make a special appearance in NYC before the NBA Draft.

Mr. Griffin showed up at Manhattan’s legendary West 4th basketball court, to play a game of S-U-B-W-A-Y, better known as HORSE. The event was sponsored by Subway Sandwiches, where Blake played against an unlikely adversary in Jared, better known as “The Subway Guy.”

Not to anyone’s surprise, Blake won the match up showing off some of his skills,but it wasn’t pretty. Despite Jared looking like he’d moved on to those new pizzas on the Subway menu, he gave Griffin a run for his money. I know one thing, if Blake is going to help those awful Clippers win, he had better develop a little jump shot.

When asked what he thought he can brings to a team he replied, “They are going to get a hard worker who wants win.”

The question remains what number Griffin will wear in the NBA, seeing that his college number of 23 carries a huge legacy in the league.

“Yeah, I like the number 23, but I don’t know if anybody will have it,” he said with a chuckle. “If not then that’s the number I’ll wear.”

Check this clip of Blake throwing down on the court. Do you think he does justice to his Airness?

About an hour or so ago, The Urban Daily and NewsOne hit the court to check out what all the fuss was about for this kid, Blake Griffin.

The number one NBA draft pick played a variation game of “HORSE” renamed S-U-B-W-A-Y versus that fat-burning spokesperson, Jared.

Our take on Griffin: Overrated.

The would-be power forward may have had an off afternoon with his jumper falling flat on the West 4th court, but when you’re losing to a former glutton and a guy off the street, then you just pray that the highlights don’t make ESPN.

But, they say that I’m a hater…

Judge for yourself when the NBA Draft kicks on this Thursday on ESPN.

Until then… check out our “Blake Griffin Subway Series Gallery” below:

VIA AP:

The last player the Los Angeles Clippers took with the No. 1 pick turned out to be a bust.

That’s not expected from who they can select this time.

The Clippers won the NBA draft lottery Tuesday night, moving up from the third-best chance to earn the top pick and the right to draft forward Blake Griffin, the national college player of the year from Oklahoma.

“He’s just as athletic as can be,” Clippers president Andy Roeser said. “Our scouts have seen him a ton this year and they just rave about him. He’s quick, he jumps and leaps. He can help to change the game for you and he’s going to be an impact player.”

Roeser wouldn’t confirm that the Clippers will choose Griffin, though they could certainly use a power forward since Elton Brand (notes) left before last season as a free agent.

“I think five years from now Blake Griffin will be hitting his stride in the NBA and he will be an impact player wherever he is,” said Roeser, whose sports jacket was lined with a Clippers uniform with a No. 1 on the left side and a 23, Griffin’s number, on the other. “He is an athletic player. He can do all sorts of things and has a ton of talent, and I think any team will be happy to have him.”

The Clippers, almost predictably, blew it last time they had a chance to get that type of player, using the No. 1 pick in 1998 on center Michael Olowokandi(notes), who averaged 8.3 points in his career and is out of the NBA.

Click here to read the full story and check out our ‘All-NBA Gallery’ below: