Rookie will try to tame the high-flying Griffin
With Andray Blatche and Rashard Lewis both expected to miss Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, the task of holding down All-Star rookie Blake Griffin likely will fall to another rookie, Trevor Booker, who has played his best basketball of the season for the Wizards (16-47) over the last few weeks.
“I expect a physical game,” said Booker, who has averaged 8.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in four games this month. “I expect a lot of high flying dunks. Both of us are athletic. I expect a good competition.”
At 6-foot-8, 240 pounds, Booker is only slightly smaller than the 6-10, 251-pound Griffin, but that’s where the comparison ends, given the runaway rookie of the year candidate’s 22.5 points, 12.4 rebounds a game and once-in-a-generation explosiveness.
“He’s huge body wise, and he can jump so high,” Booker said. “You rarely see both of those together, and he’s skilled.”
| UP NEXT |
| Clippers at Wizards |
| When » Saturday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Verizon Center |
| TV » Comcast SportsNet |
The Wizards’ best hope will be to frustrate Griffin in the halfcourt — he was held to 12 points and a season-low seven rebounds in the Clippers’ win over Boston on Wednesday — and try to keep up with him in transition.
Asked about Griffin’s combination of talent and desire, Wizards coach Flip Saunders compared Griffin to a young Karl Malone.
“You know what they call those guys? Superstars,” Saunders said. “Blake might even be more athletic than Karl was earlier. A lot of people compare him to Shawn [Kemp] because of Shawn’s athleticism and those things, but Shawn didn’t have that much of a refined game at the same stage as what Blake has.”
