Though still early in the season, a palpable sense of urgency permeated throughout the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon during a fourth quarter that saw nine lead changes in the final eight-and-a-half minutes. The Los Angeles Clippers entered enemy territory for the first time, looking to stay undefeated and prove they’d stuck as one of the premier teams in the insanely competitive Western Conference.

Down two with 5.9 seconds remaining, Doc Rivers drew up a pin-down play for Blake Griffin. According to Griffin after the game, the play was designed for him to attempt a two and send the game into overtime. Instead, the seven-year vet, who had just scored the Clippers’ last six points and 13 of their 21 in the quarter, came off the screen, took a pass from Patrick Beverley and found an opening beyond the arc to win the game.

The Clippers advanced to their second best start in franchise history. But more importantly, Griffin showed that he, powered by some newly developed skills, would be just fine without the team’s long-time facilitator, Chris Paul.

After the departure of Paul to Houston, Griffin became the unchallenged leader for the Los Angeles Clippers. The only question was: Could he adequately spearhead a team that not only lost CP3’s captaincy, but also bid farewell to the veteran guidance and key floor spacing of J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford, Marreese Speights and Paul Pierce?

Concerns abounded that the Griffin we have known throughout his career would not be up to this task. The most recent version of Blake, the one that played second fiddle to Paul since his sophomore season, generally took what he was given within the flow of the offense. More than 60 percent of his field goals came off assists during this time, so skepticism surrounding his ability to remain efficient as the unrivaled alpha and someone who generates his own opportunities was totally warranted.

About that, though…

Through six games, with the Clippers sitting at 4-2, we have seen a new-and-improved Griffin put many of those concerns to rest.  He has shown the ability to create for himself without sacrificing efficiency. Only 32.6 percent of his field goals have come off assists this season, and his 54.6 effective field-goal percentage is the second highest of his career.

This quasi-reinvention all starts with his improved shooting ability, particularly from beyond the arc. He has gone from attempting 0.5 three-pointers per game in 2015-16 and 1.9 per contest in 2016-17 (on about 33 percent shooting each year) to now jacking 5.5 treys per night on 42.4 percent accuracy. While these returns are impressive enough on the surface, the types of shots he’s trying make them even more remarkable.

Most stretch power forwards and centers in the NBA are primarily used in catch-and-shoot situations to space the floor. But Griffin is far from typical. The 6’10”, 250-pounder has showed a great level of comfort in shooting threes off the dribble, rendering him a mismatch in just about every situation.

When teams put a traditional big man on him, as they’ve done in the past, he can now force them out to the three-point line and pull-up with ease if they don’t respect his shot:

If they do step out to contest him, it opens up more opportunities for him to use his explosiveness and athletic ability to reach the rim. Here is Jusuf Nurkic guarding him again, but this time, he plays Griffin closely to contest a potential pull-up jumper and gets burned off the bounce:

Putting a smaller, more mobile defender on Griffin rarely works either, in large part because he can abuse them on the block. In fact, without Paul feeding him the ball, and given his ability to leverage a three-point stroke, Griffin has been able to reach his desired spots and post up with much more frequency.

This season, according to Synergy, 34.9 percent of Griffin’s offense (including passes) has come from post-ups. Last year, that number was just 22.8 percent. When you watch the Clippers play, you can tell he heavily favors the left block. And again: He can get to this sweet spot more because he’s monopolizing a larger share of the offense. Almost 70 percent of his post-ups when he’s in single coverage have come on the left block, where he’s scoring a blistering 1.5 points per possession. Last season, those numbers checked in at 64.4 percent and 0.85 PPP. In 2015-2016, they were 44.8 percent and 0.8 PPP, respectively:

Griffin has also been able to create some additional  opportunities for his teammates. Of the 27 times he has been double-teamed in the post, he’s completed 16 passes that have translated to 18 points on an effective field-goal percentage of 60.

In the below play, he gets the ball in his sweet spot on the left block against Josh Jackson. When Eric Bledsoe comes over to double, Griffin immediately finds Patrick Beverley for an uncontested three:

On top of all this, Griffin’s improved shooting has added another dimension to his off-ball game. He’s now much more effective in pick-and-pop situations.

Griffin ranked in the 27^th percentile of pick-and pop-efficiency in 2015-16, scoring 0.782 PPP.  He improved slightly last year, averaging 0.87 PPP and finishing in the 44th percentile. This season? Forget it. He is in the 100^th percentile at 1.5 PPP. While that degree of efficiency will inevitably go down as the schedule progresses, we should still expect to see a significant overall leap by year’s end:

Most importantly: Griffin’s individual stats aren’t empty contributions. The Clippers’ offense is putting up exceedingly similar numbers in comparison with last year’s machine. 

First off, the ball is moving at relatively the same rate it did in 2016-17. According to NBA.com’s tracking data , the Clippers are passing 305.7 times per game, compared to 301 last season. Additionally, according to NBA Math’s adjusted team ratings, their current adjusted offensive rating of 103.68 is nearly identical to their 103.58 mark from last year.

Yes, the season is still in its infancy. We can’t yet tell whether these newfangled trends will last. 

But if Griffin is, indeed, offering us a preview of his new normal, or something close to it, the Clippers offense will seldom feel the loss of—er, umm, damn, what was his name again?

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Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from NBA Math, Basketball Reference or NBA.com and are accurate heading into games on Nov. 1.

Follow Faizan on Twitter @Faizan_Has.