Blake Griffin is giving the Clippers hope

He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, and Blake Griffin isn’t even a boxer.

Los Angeles’ newest superstar-in-waiting is in a strange place. He plays for the Clippers.

He is 15 games into a career that has marquee promise. Saturday, he had 44 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. It was the kind of monster game upon which careers are built and legends begun.

But he plays for the Clippers.

In his monster game Saturday, he made a couple of dunks that gave SportsCenter several highlight reels. In one, he looked like Jack and the guy guarding him looked like the beanstalk. Some guys elevate. Griffin’s nickname ought to be Otis.

Monday night, he got a loose ball in the first two minutes of the game and the crowd yelled in anticipation as he headed for the slam. Already, they expect some dazzle, and he gave it to them by slamming one home. In a city of glitter that demands such things, Griffin can be a one-man showtime.

But there is a problem. He plays for the Clippers.

Going into Monday night’s game with New Orleans, Griffin was averaging 18.5 points and 10.9 rebounds. Going into Monday night’s game, the Clippers were 1-13. They beat Oklahoma City on Nov. 3, and rumors of some point- shaving going on by the Thunder have been proven to be unfounded.

Griffin was a Clipper before last season, but he injured a knee just before the start of the season and sat out 2009-10. Some looked upon that as a tragedy for the young man. The more veteran NBA observers saw it as a blessing. The young man had enough suffering ahead of him.

He was the No. 1 pick overall in the 2009 draft. The bad teams are the ones who get the best shot at the No. 1 pick, so this was not the first time the Clippers had a No. 1. There was Danny Manning in 1988, then the legendary Michael Olowokandi in 1998, then Griffin. The Clippers have had several Nos. 2 and 3. But it was clear when they got Griffin that he would be no Benoit Benjamin.

Besides playing above the rim and above the level of all but a handful others, Griffin is also good looking and well-spoken. Either his parents raised him right, or the two years he spent as a star at Oklahoma served him well. Or both.

To that context, he brings the serious goal of trying to inspire team success, as well as individual success. Give him credit, but also remember. He is young.

“To be honest,” he says, “I always heard things about the Clippers. But it’s not really like that in my mind. It’s something I know can be changed. I’m working on that. I love the challenge.”

If a few loaves and fishes can feed thousands, then the losing ways of the Clippers can change. At least in Griffin’s mind.

“I actually feel we have the tools,” he says. “I feel we can change that culture.”

The name Elton Brand comes up. He is the model. He carried the Clippers, along with Mike Dunleavy, to the Western Conference semifinals in 2006, and all the way to a Game 7 against the Phoenix Suns. The Clippers lost that, 127-107, but the fan base had been stirred up.

Brand was good looking, well-spoken. Also a guy who had some monster games and numbers that placed him among the elite in the NBA.

But the inevitable Clippers disillusionment set in and Brand soon left to play in an atmosphere of improved sanity in Philadelphia. The glum future that has hung over the Clippers for all but a handful of seasons, since their beginnings in Buffalo in 1971 and all the way through their stay in San Diego from 1978 to 1984, was back again. Brand went away. The franchise was gone. The clouds had returned.

Now a new franchise has arrived, in the form of a rookie, no less.

His self-appointed task is to lead the Clippers to their 10th playoff series in nearly 40 years. In L.A., they are 1-4 in playoff series, with their best franchise advance that seven-gamer against the Suns. Unlike Griffin, this team has started the season like an old Chevy on a Minnesota morning in January.

Poor Griffin has to be somewhat shell-shocked. In his two seasons at Oklahoma, his teams lost a total of 18 games. At 2-13, he might match that well before Christmas.

He also might be on to something in his stance that the future will be better.

In a stunner Monday night, the Clippers beat the New Orleans Hornets (11-2). Griffin had a key rebound and basket to tie the score late, and he looked near tears when the final buzzer sounded. He told the media after Saturday night’s huge game that his individual stuff mattered little if they didn’t win.

Griffin finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists Monday.

This time, in a victory. Which is the only thing that really changes a team’s culture.

bill.dwyre@latimes.com.