AJ Griffin’s second season did not go how fans expected
After a relatively impressive rookie season, the road ahead looked much different for AJ Griffin. The 20-year-old hardly logged minutes in his second NBA season for a variety of reasons. He missed a slew of games early in the regular season due to “personal reasons,” which were undisclosed, and I am not going to speculate. However, after that point, Griffin hardly logged real minutes. Even when injuries left holes at wing, he did not play. So, it’s time to address the question fans have asked since the beginning of the season: Why?
Compared to his rookie season, Griffin appeared in 52 fewer games, played 1,232 fewer minutes, attempted 471 fewer shots, and scored 591 fewer points. While sure, he missed time due to personal reasons and injury, but most of all, it is obvious he does not have the trust of head coach Quin Snyder. After seeing his productive rookie campaign, fans turn the blame to Snyder for not recognizing Griffin’s talent. However, if we watch the short stints of Griffin’s play, Snyder’s reasoning to sideline him becomes more rational.
To start the season, Griffin logged 8.5 minutes in the first four games and knocked down five three-pointers in this span. As disappointing as it is to say, this would be his best stretch of the year. Appearing in seven games in November, he made just four of 23 field goal attempts. He played 9.6 minutes per game on average, largely due to playing 12 minutes versus the Celtics, then 15 minutes versus the Cavaliers in a rather uncompetitive game. In these two games, he combined 0-for-13 from the field. In stark contrast to last season, he was highly inefficient in limited minutes of play.
Though it was likely not his shot-making, or lack thereof, that kept him off the floor. After averaging 3.8 minutes across just six games played in January, it became confusing why he was with the big club. The lack of minutes made you think he should be sent down to play meaningful minutes in the G League. As I mentioned earlier, his short stints with the Hawks were far from promising. Against the Pacers on January 5th, he displayed some below-average defense in limited minutes. He struggled to stay in front of Jordan Nwora and showed little effort to get over a screen to contest Ben Sheppard.
He was in a habit of taking out-of-rhythm three-point shots. While he has never been hesitant in his shot, some bad misses and low efficiency raised question marks.
This game featured his only two turnovers of the six games, but his decision-making was not sharp throughout. He did not log an assist, which is understandable with low minutes, but many times he did not seem comfortable with the ball in his hands.
To be quite frank, Griffin did not look like an NBA player when he was launched into games this season. There is not much more to gather in his other 2-5 minute stints from January, other than what I have shown above.
Note: I broke down Griffin’s performance in the G League in depth earlier this season, and I encourage you to read it here.
I shared a quote from Landry Fields in the article above, before the Hawks chose to send Griffin down to the Skyhawks.
“At this point you will see him being more in College Park, just as we’re continuously laying out his development pathway to bring it down a little more specifically on the defensive end. That’s a growth area for AJ. Everyone knows he’s an elite shooter, unbelievable shooter for where he’s at, at this stage of his career… we’re going to have to lean into the defensive aspect of his game, and that’s what we’re going to be focusing on now, post deadline.”
On February 21st, AJ Griffin was assigned to the College Park Skyhawks. He played in six games in the G League and suffered an injury at the wrong time. In these six games, he scored 14.2 points per game on 43.2 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc. He averaged 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.3 steals. Regardless of whether Griffin dominated the G League or not, fans were going to be disappointed in his second season. If you remember, there were obvious intentions to get him more comfortable with the ball in his hands as far back as the 2023 Summer League. This continued when he rejoined the Skyhawks, and his defensive strides were subtly evident. However, this was halted by injury, so we didn’t get to see full development like Ryan Schmidt probably hoped.
He played 38 minutes combined in the final two games of the season, including the horrendous (for lack of a better term) blowout loss versus the Pacers to end the season. He shot just 4-for-14 from the field and 0-for-5 from three in this game.
Possibly, AJ Griffin were to stay healthy and spend extended time in the G League, we would be encouraged by his development. It feels like the path ahead starts with the Skyhawks, which may not be a negative, as he will enter next season at 21 years old. However, the promise of the impressive rookie has become less desirable, and his potential alters to a question mark.