Blake Griffin goes from out of Nets' rotation to key starter amid absences: 'This is my job'

After falling out of the Nets' rotation, evidenced by sitting six straight games, Blake Griffin is once again a key cog in Steve Nash's lineup.

Despite a 100-93 loss Saturday against the Orlando Magic, the Nets felt Griffin's impact. Griffin made an early exit due to knee tightness, but not before scoring 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting while grabbing seen rebounds and dishing six assists in 32 minutes as the Nets (21-9) started three rookies and 10-day contract free agents, respectively.

"Yeah, Blake's played great," Nash said. "Like I said to him, we know there's always something around the corner. Although he was out of the rotation for a little while, we knew something would happen and he'd get his opportunity again. And he's a pro -- worked his butt off, stayed in shape, found a rhythm. He's playing good basketball. So, unfortunately, he took a little knock on the knee (Saturday night) and we couldn't get the game, but his effort was outstanding."

Griffin also played a pivotal role this past Thursday in the shorthanded Nets' 114-105 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, a 17-point effort to complement Kevin Durant's game-high 34.

"I take pride in it, for sure," said Griffin, who shot 7 of 16 from the field against Philly -- including a dagger 3 with 1:13 left -- while adding nine rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes. "This is my job, you know? I wish I could've done more in the second half (Saturday night). All that stuff to stay ready and then can't really be 100% in the second half, so that's frustrating.

"But it would be more frustrating if I didn't stay ready and I wasn't there for my teammates, because when everybody's there for each other. So that's the mentality we've got to have all season."

Previously, Griffin initially gave the Nets a spark last Tuesday in a 131-129 overtime victory against the Toronto Raptors.

As the Nets rolled with an eight-man rotation that included four rookies, Griffin gave the group a needed veteran while scoring 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting -- including two triples -- plus five rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes.

The Nets are in a wait-and-see limbo -- 10 players have entered health and safety protocols, leading to postponed home games Sunday (Denver Nuggets) and Tuesday (Washington Wizards) -- but Griffin's mentality is what Brooklyn collectively embodies.

"Obviously, adversity, where we're going to go -- day by day, at the moment," said Patty Mills. "And trying to keep healthy, trying to -- obviously -- do all the right things. It's difficult times at the moment. You're not sure what's happening. So you've just got to stay ready, as easy as that's probably easy to say. Stay ready so you don't have to get ready. And I think that's the mindset that all of us have -- just keep chipping away. But it is what it is. And -- at the end of the day -- the ball goes up, you roll it out and you get to hoop."