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Clippers’ Blake Griffin is still playing with partial injury

By Tom West

Apr 3, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) sits on the floor in the second half of the game against the Washington Wizards at Staples Center. Clippers won 114-109. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) sits on the floor in the second half of the game against the Washington Wizards at Staples Center. Clippers won 114-109. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Blake Griffin made his return for the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, but he’s still playing with a partial tear in his quadricep and admitted that he hoped an alley-oop from Chris Paul wouldn’t go too high.

Blake Griffin is back. After missing three months with a partially torn quadricep and a broken hand that followed with a break in judgment when punching equipment staff member Matias Testi, Griffin has finally suited up for the Los Angeles Clippers. It’s come just in time for the playoffs, leaving six more games after Sunday’s 114-109 victory over the Washington Wizards to prepare for the postseason, ditch small-ball, and find new form and chemistry.

Now, the hand is fine, showing just a large scar that should only serve as a reminder to what happened and not a hindrance to performance. As for the quad, there is still a problem.

After tearing it in December and still causing delay until April, it was clear there were complications. And even though Griffin has returned, he isn’t entirely healthy and he admitted that the tear is still partially there.

Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times has reported what Griffin had to say about the injury, who clearly wasn’t happy with the training staff for issues with correctly assessing the problem and establishing the right regime to recover:

"“I don’t want to say ‘misdiagnosed,'” Griffin said of his injury and resulting workout plan, “but [I] wasn’t doing the right things, I guess. We weren’t addressing the initial problem, the main problem.“Everything I was doing was just putting more stress on my knee. The small tear became a three-month thing because I wasn’t doing the right things until we figured it out.”"

The frustration of realizing that the injury wasn’t dealt with correctly must have been hard to go through for Griffin. Facing an estimate of at least a month on the sidelines is bad enough, but seeing that increase due to an incorrect workout plan and rehabilitation that put more stress on his knee is something that can’t be excused.

For a team’s training staff who are responsible for getting a superstar in top shape as quick as possible, these issues may have cost the Clippers more time to find a rhythm with Griffin ahead of the playoffs.

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Clippers head coach Doc Rivers also chimed in on the matter, adding “You don’t want to throw a guy out there and him get injured because you’re overplaying him, so we just have to be very careful.” And after playing him for a conservative 24 minutes and 30 seconds on Sunday (as anticipated), we can expect similar time for Griffin in the next six games before the playoffs.

Griffin had more to say following his return on Sunday against the Wizards, revealing that the alley-oop for his first basket didn’t feel quite as natural as similar scores always have done for him (per Ben Bolch):

"“I just remember it was the first time thinking, ‘Please don’t throw it too high,’ Griffin said, alluding to the effects of not playing for the Clippers for more than three months. “Normally, I’m ready to go for those.”"

If the thought of whether the ball is going to go too high enters Griffin’s mind, it’s clear something isn’t quite right. Of course, he’s healthy enough to play and the Clippers brought him back so that he would have some time to acclimatize to playing before the playoffs are forced upon him.

However, with the tear still there, he’ll need slightly longer to be absolutely 100 percent and freely throw down lobs with his signature high-flying explosiveness and authority.

In fact, Bolch even mentioned in his report that Griffin alluded to “probably” needing surgery in the offseason to fix the injury once and for all. We can’t know for certain, but judging by the fact that the tear is still persisting for the time being, surgery may be the best option long-term.

Next: 5 key takeaways from Blake Griffin's return

In the meantime, we can see how his conditioning fares and how he fits in with the Clippers for the end of the regular season.

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