据布雷克-格里芬的前投篮教练估计，格里芬为了提升自己的投篮能力，在四年时间里总计投篮四十万次，或者说每天完成“如机械般正确”的投篮500次。
Blake Griffin's former shooting coach estimates it took Blake 400,000 shots or 500 "mechnically-correct" shots per day over a 4 year span, to improve his shot
“You can’t be a dunker your whole life,” Rivers told Griffin in their first meeting, in 2013. The coach braced for resistance, but Griffin was way ahead of him, already retreating to a corner of the practice gym every day with a notebook–wielding, Diet Coke–guzzling shot doctor named Bob Thate. There, Griffin filled his daily prescription of 500 shots, which only counted if Thate deemed them “mechanically correct.”
“你不可能当一辈子扣将，”里弗斯在2013年第一次和格里芬会面时表示。教练已经为可能到来的抗拒心理做好了准备，但实际上格里芬要比他想的更超前，早早就和他的投篮教练Bob Thate——一个笔记本的重度使用者和健怡可乐的狂热爱好者，每天躲到训练馆的角落去了。在那里，格里芬每天都要完成500次投篮，而且必须是500次经过Thate认可的“如机械般正确”的投篮。
That meant Griffin had to jump straight up and down (instead of back and to the left), lift his right arm toward the sky (instead of the rim), position the ball even with his forehead (instead of over his head) and release it at the apex of his jump (instead of the descent).
这意味着格里芬必须垂直跳跃（而不是向后或者向左跳），将他的右手举向天空（而不是伸向篮筐），将球举到额头平齐处（而不是高举过头顶），并且在跳到最高点时将球投出（而不是下落时出手）
For Griffin, who was barely a 50% free throw shooter and rarely hoisted a three when he started with Thate, “mechanically correct” was a mystery. “He wanted everything done in a day,” Thate laughs. It took four years and 325,000 mechanically correct shots, plus another 75,000 flawed ones, as Thate supplied commentary: No, that’s too far back. No, that’s too low. Butt’s not out far enough, shoulder isn’t on the chin. Keep your hands up, freeze your arm.
对于格里芬这个罚球命中率仅仅50%，而且几乎不投三分的选手来说，在刚刚开始和Thate的训练时，“如机械般正确”对他来说就是个虚无缥缈的概念。“格里芬希望一天就能把一切搞定”，Thate笑道。格里芬整整用了4年，325000个“如机械般正确”的投篮，外加75000个有瑕疵的投篮，以及Thate边上喋喋不休的评论：不不不，太靠后了。不对，太低了。屁股撅的不够，肩膀没有举到下巴。把手抬起来，胳膊固定住。
One summer they shot for 17 straight weeks at Mira Costa High School, including days when Griffin fumed and Thate fretted. “You have to let me be frustrated,” Griffin explained. He yearned to see the ball drop through the net, but Thate rarely even looked at the basket. He brought bags of M&Ms to remind Griffin: Mechanics, not Makes. “I know, I know, I’m in a hurry too, Pops,” Thate would tell Griffin, quoting Red Pollard in Seabiscuit. “But you know what Hadrian said about Rome. Brick by brick, my citizens. Brick by brick.”
他们用了一整个夏天，在Mira Costa高中完成了持续17周的投篮训练，既经历了格里芬的暴躁，也有Thate的不快。“你必须让我感到挫败”，格里芬对此解释道。格里芬期待看到皮球从网中刷过的时刻，然而Thate却连看都不看篮筐。Thate给格里芬带过很多包MM豆，以此来提醒他：重要的是动作本身，而不是球是否进筐。“我懂，我都懂，我也很急，Pops，”Thate会引用《奔腾年代》中波拉德的台词，对格里芬说道，“但是你知道哈德里安是怎么形容罗马的吗？罗马是一砖一瓦建成的，我的子民们，一砖一瓦，没有捷径。”
Thate stood in the tunnel during games, and if Griffin missed a couple jumpers, he’d holler, “What do you got? What do you see?” If Thate pointed at his head, Griffin needed to shoot higher. If Thate clasped his hands and pulled them apart, Griffin needed to release sooner. If Thate formed a “V” with his thumb and index finger, balance was the problem. “Castle of jump shots, brick by brick,” became their mantra.
Thate会在比赛时站在球员通道，如果格里芬投丢了几个跳投，他就会大叫道，“你看到了什么？“如果Thate指着自己的脑袋，格里芬就需要抬高出手点；如果Thate拍手，再把双手分开，那格里芬就需要出手再早一点儿；如果Thate用大拇指和食指比例一个“V”字，说明格里芬需要注意平衡问题了。“跳投之城，是一块块铁打出来的，”这句话是他们二人奉行的准则。
One day in the gym, with Griffin’s free throw percentage all the way up near 75%, he told Thate, “You know what a great feeling is? Not being afraid to get fouled anymore.” But Thate looked beyond the stripe. “Someday you’ll be the best shooter on this team, and then one of the best shooters in the league.” The full results of their labor would not be evident for years.
后来，格里芬的罚球命中率一路上升到了接近75%。某天在训练馆训练的时候，他告诉Thate，“你知道最爽的是什么吗？就是不用再害怕被犯规了。”但是Thate的目光则越过了罚球线。“总有一天你会成为队里最好的投手，然后成为联盟最好的投手之一。”他们的付出在几年之后不会显现出完整的成果。
