Jeremy Lin warned by Blake Griffin about fatigue from All-Star weekend events
Blake Griffin has some advice for how Jeremy Lin should handle All-Star weekend in Orlando: Don't be afraid to say no.
"I'm sure he will be extremely busy,” Griffin told Yahoo! Sports. “It will be a whirlwind for him the rest of the season just because of a lot of media attention. A lot of times when people come out of nowhere like that, companies or whatever, they are going to be rushing to get a bunch of stuff done now because they kind of missed the boat this season. They didn't plan for it.
“My advice to him is to say no to things that you are unsure of unless you really, really, really want to do something. If not, don't do it."
Griffin, a second-year Los Angeles Clippers forward, was the top attraction at last year's All-Star weekend in L.A. He won the dunk contest and also played in the Rookie Challenge and All-Star game. He now endorses the Kia car he jumped over in commercials and has challenged Kobe Bryant's popularity in L.A.
Yet, the memorable weekend drained Griffin. He averaged 22.8 points and 12.6 rebounds prior to the All-Star break. In the month afterward, his averages dipped to 20.5 points and 10.4 rebounds. He says he wasn’t able to catch his breath until the middle of March.
“To be honest, I didn’t enjoy it like I should have,” Griffin said. “I didn’t really get a chance to. We came off an eight-game road trip. We had been on the road 15 days straight. We got in on [Thursday] at like 2 in the morning and then everything for me started at noon on Thursday. Literally, it was from noon on Thursday to past midnight every night [All-Star weekend].
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“Right after All-Star I got sick. My body shut down. I felt like I played horribly for like almost a month.”
Lin, a New York Knicks point guard, isn't participating in nearly as many events as Griffin did last year. The NBA took advantage of Lin's sudden rise to fame by making him a late addition to Friday night’s Rising Stars game . Still, it will be his sixth game in eight nights. And while Lin isn't participating in Saturday's skills competitions or Sunday's All-Star game, his agent, Roger Montgomery, has been flooded with business opportunities and likely will have meetings scheduled for Lin with potential sponsors. Considering Lin is making the league's $762,195 minimum for second-year players, it probably behooves him to cash in on his new-found popularity.
Lin has already eclipsed the attention Griffin received at last year’s All-Star weekend.
“He's on a completely different level,” he said. “He came out of nowhere, he is playing in New York and he's playing great basketball. It's become this huge thing. I'm not saying it shouldn't. I'm happy for him. He deserves it. But it won't slow down anytime soon."
Griffin will play in his second All-Star game and also participate in the Rising Stars Challenge as a teammate of Lin on Team Shaq. But Griffin also chose to skip the dunk contest.
"It honestly has nothing to do with trying to top last year,” Griffin said. “That's not even in my mind. I feel I can do better than last year and be more prepared than last year. I'm not saying I'll never do it ever again. But this year I needed a break.
"If people think I'm ducking the dunk contest, that's fine. I need to rest first."
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