ESPN reports Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin has suffered another injury.
Already reported Blake Griffin would not appear on the Clippers’ ongoing road trip as he continues to rehab a lower leg injury that has kept him sidelined since December 25, the multi-time All-Star has, per Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, broken his hand.
ESPN sources tell @ramonashelburne and I that Blake Griffin has suffered suspected broken hand in undisclosed team-related incident
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 26, 2016
What was originally reported as just an injured hand has gone from “okay, this could be minor” to “yeah, this is bad”. Citing Stein and Shelburne, the team is expected to give an update on the injury’s status within the coming days:
"Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that the Clippers are still evaluating the severity of the new injury but are expected to provide an update in the next day or two."
Despite a promising 9-0 start post-Christmas sans Blake, the last week or so has been a reality check for the Clippers, and more so anyone who believed this Clippers was either better without Griffin or made a considerable leap in comparison to the version of itself from earlier this season. The truth? The Clippers’ schedule prior to their loss to the Sacramento Kings was the perfect storm, facing a handful of teams that were either average or missing a key(s) player. And like the team the Clippers are, which is still a talented one without Blake, they were able to take advantage.
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As of late, when the schedule has seen an uptick in opponent quality, the Clippers have dropped three of their last five, including a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and last night’s loss to the Toronto Raptors.
The short-term worst-case scenario with Griffin’s injury is he’s held out of exhibition games until the All-Star break, which is the weekend of Valentine’s Day (and and the weekend of the release of SWISH, which is an important happening to anyone who’s anyone). This gives Blake added time to rehab, and more importantly, added time for Doc Rivers to not feel the need of rushing his star forward back onto the court.
The obvious: if Griffin isn’t 100 percent healthy come playoff time — knee, hand, whatever — it’ll be a short playoffs of the Clippers, though that may be the case regardless if Doc can’t get his head screwed on properly. This Clippers team, in the Rivers general managing era, has never been built to withstand a crucial injury. In fairness, few teams, if any, are built to make up for the loss of a superstar, but as it has been pointed out time and time again through the last two seasons, this Clippers’ bench doesn’t possess the bodies and Rivers possibly doesn’t possess the strategy to squeeze three or four extra wins when needing it most.
Next: Blake Griffin's injury: Estimating a potential return date
As more information is revealed regarding Griffin’s injury, we’ll surely deliver a write-up on the matter but for now, we’ll be waiting along with you all.