Hawks rookie forward AJ Griffin may have missed some prime time to show why the team selected him with the 16th pick in the NBA draft. But the 19-year-old is on the right track to finding his footing in the NBA.
Griffin missed Summer League in July as a precautionary measure when he began feeling discomfort in his foot. The Hawks had to ease him through the early days of training camp after he mildly sprained his ankle in one of the team’s first practices.
But Griffin has relied on his faith to get him through the setbacks that have come. It has served him for much of his teenage years, and it helped to fuel him now.
He shot 50% on 3-point shots in his first four exhibition games, re-igniting the hot hand that drew attention to him while he was at Duke. In the second and third exhibition games, Griffin made 64% of his 3-point shots.
“It felt good,” Griffin said. “I was so so ready to get out there. Just play the game again. And you know, I’m not even thinking, I’m just playing the game I love and just when I saw (my first shot) go in, it was just, you know, I’m back to playing ball. It was a great feeling.”
Griffin’s first NBA shot came within 30 seconds of him entering the Hawks’ second exhibition game against the Bucks. Griffin came off a screen from big man Onyeka Okongwu and caught a quick pass from Trae Young, then drained a 29-foot jumper. He made another 35 seconds into the second quarter, then drew a foul on his third 3-point attempt.
“Just, you know, the repetition of just working with the coaches here,” Griffin said. “We always made sure we were getting game shots. The shots I get in practice, those shots are the shots I get in the game. So, having the repetitions like, I saw already. So like, I talked to (the coaches) after the shot and like after the game, I was like, ‘I felt like that was just like the workout.’ Because, you know, literally just, you know, it translates to the game easy.”
The work he has put in with the Hawks’ coaching staff has supplemented the work begun by his father, Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin. AJ Griffin said that his father taught him to shoot and encouraged him to master his form.
Now that he’s older and in the NBA, Griffin said that he tries to keep reinforcing the lessons his father taught him once or twice a week.
“Because, you know, once when you get in the game, it’s just, you feel, you know, get right in the pocket, and then just let it fly,” Griffin said. “You don’t think about it.”
Griffin also has tried to soak in any advice he can get from Kyle Korver, who the Hawks hired as their new director of player affairs and development this summer. Griffin said that after he arrived for training camp, he asked Korver as many questions as he could.
“You know, how you get your feet squared, and like, a big thing with me, him and just, you know, learning how to just like, get your body squared with the, with the rim,” Griffin said. “And so, just little stuff like that, and he always tells me, you know, if (he) sees something in my game, where, you know, he’ll just let me know, like, ‘oh, you know, this is where you could, make a shot a little bit better.’ So it’s just great to have, a veteran just like that, and to help you.”
Griffin’s shooting has excited fans and the Hawks’ coaching staff. There’s no telling how many minutes Griffin will get this season, but he’s earned them, so far, with his ability to knock shots down.
So should the rookie get in on the action this season, Hawks coach Nate McMillan knows that Griffin will make the most of it.
“I think just bringing energy out there,” McMillan said. “Whenever he gets on the floor, he gets an opportunity, he’s aggressive. I don’t want him really thinking too much out there. I would much rather him reacting to situations, and if you’re gonna make a mistake, make a mistake being aggressive.
“I thought he came in with that mindset. We got the basketball, (and) he was really looking to play quick, with the ball, and he made some plays, made some shots. And I just like his attitude and approach when he got those minutes.”
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