Blake Griffin Says He Needs More Work

LAS VEGAS -- Blake Griffin, who will miss USA Basketball's minicamp because of a strained shoulder, came away from the Las Vegas Summer League with much to work on, despite being named MVP of the league.

Griffin, the Clippers forward, said defense will be his biggest obstacle during his adjustment to the NBA, and he learned a great deal about communication and spacing during the five-game summer league stint.

"For me, it's just about getting the things down that I need to get down like defensive schemes and understand where to be at what time because those things won't change too much," he said. "The competition is gonna be better but for the most part the sets are the same and everything like that. Everything's been kind of what I expected and I am just trying to handle it the right way. Defense. [I've got to] learn things quickly and react off of instinct."

At times Griffin made the summer league resemble the Big 12 in terms of his dominance. But he hardly seemed impressed with his scoring and rebounding. He knows he can excel at those aspects. He wants to become a complete player.

"The biggest thing I'm trying to learn every day and get better," he said. "I'm still making too many mistakes. Didn't shoot well early on. I hit some jumpers, but like I said, I've got to keep learning, keep getting better. Defensive mistakes. A couple of times I called out the wrong defensive command and kind of got mixed up and careless with the ball a couple of times."

And his realizes his perimeter jumper must improve.

"I haven't shot well," he said. "I hit some shots but I haven't shot as well as I can. It's going to come with the reps. I've got to build my confidence shooting the ball because I never did it in college. I just didn't do it."