Blake Griffin's whirlwind weekend
If you ask Andy Reid what he thinks of Blake Griffin, you'll most likely hear something about him having a good motor. It's so good, in fact, that it never actually stops running.
While the rest of the NBA is on a weekend-long sabbatical, Blake Griffin is putting in work.
On Wednesday, Griffin played over 45 minutes while leading his team with 29 points and 8 rebounds in a 98-90 win over Minnesota.
Off to All-Star Weekend.
On Friday, Griffin had 14 points on seven dunks as his rookie squad beat the sophomores in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge.
On Saturday, he heads into the slam dunk contest as the favorite. Bodog.com has Griffin going off at -300, making him by far the favorite to win the event. Compare that to DeMar DeRozan at +350, JaVale McGee at +650, and Serge Ibaka at +800.
I'd have a tough time putting up $300 dollars to win $100, but it's hard to bet against the kid. Also, you know the hometown crowd is going to be behind Griffin, and you can never underestimate that factor when you have judges determining the outcome of the competition. Griffin aside, I like Serge Ibaka at +750. It is just a dunk contest after all.
On Sunday, Griffin will look to become just the third rookie ever to win MVP honors at an NBA All-Star Game.
The other two? Just some guys named Chamberlin ('60) and Robertson ('61).
Griffin will then get Monday off before the Clippers take on Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and the aforementioned Ibaka in Oklahoma City.
If all goes well this weekend, Blake Griffin could surpass Kobe Bryant as the most popular baller in L.A.
Well, maybe not. But a win at the dunk contest and an MVP (or at least a strong showing) in the All-Star Game would go a long way for Griffin.
For those curious, here are the odds for the rest of tonight's all-star competitions according to Bodog:
2011 Haier Shooting Stars Competition
Team Atlanta (Al Horford, Coco Miller, Steve Smith): +250
Team Chicago (Taj Gibson, Cathrine Kraayveld, Steve Kerr): +300
Team Los Angeles (Pau Gasol, Tina Thompson, Rick Fox): +225
Team Texas (Dirk Nowitzki, Roneeka Hodges, Kenny Smith): +125
2011 Taco Bell Skills Challenge:
Derrick Rose (CHI): +200
Chris Paul (NO): +255
Russel Westbrook (OKC): +275
Stephen Curry (GSW): +300
John Wall (WAS): +325
2011 Foot Locker 3 Point Contest:
Ray Allen (BOS): 37/20
Kevin Durant (OKC): 3/1
Paul Pierce (BOS): 4/1
Dorell Wright (GSW): 9/2
James Jones (MIA): 5/1
Daniel Gibson (CLE): 6/1
Below is a look at some of the best Blake Griffin dunks of the first half of the season, courtesy of ESPN.
Matt Mullin is a Sports Producer at philly.com. You can reach him at mmullin@philly.com. Follow him on Twitter: @matt_mullin