Clippers News: Blake Griffin still ‘not close’ to returning
By Tom West
Blake Griffin has started working on his shooting again, but Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers has said that “he’s not close” to returning.
If the disappointing altercation with Matias Testi never occurred, Blake Griffin could be back in action for the Los Angeles Clippers now. His quadricep injury could have passed and he never would have needed to recover from a broken right hand, too. However, there’s no point discussing “what ifs”, so it’s better to focus on when Griffin may actually be healthy and when he’ll make his return.
Unfortunately for the Clippers, though, this matter still lacks any real certainty. Right now, there’s no timetable for Griffin’s return and while we do know that he’s started working on his shooting again, he’s by no means in playing shape yet.
The promising aspect of Griffin’s rehab (at least based on everything we do know) is that judging by the fact his quadricep should have been fine weeks ago, he should have done enough conditioning work by now to ensure he’s in a good position in terms of fitness, especially as he’s had longer than expected to recover from his injury.
Although, it’s now been made clear by Clippers head coach Doc Rivers that Blake isn’t close to returning due to the state of his shooting hand. Dan Woike of the Orange County Register has reported the comments of Doc and his son, Austin Rivers (who has been recovering from a broken hand himself over the last few weeks):
"“Obviously, his [hand injury] is more serious,” Austin Rivers said. “He had to have surgery, I didn’t. Mine healed in three weeks; he has a little bit more to go. But he looks great. He’s been on the court working.” …Still, there’s no immediate timetable. Monday will be five weeks since Griffin underwent the initial surgery on his right hand.“I mean, he’s not close or anything,” Doc Rivers said, “he’s just shooting a basketball.”"
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So, with the NBA All-Star break out the way as the regular season nears its end, the Clippers only have 24 games left to play. Could Griffin return in this time? It’s obviously hard to tell based on Doc’s brief comment, but the most likely scenario (based on speculation and what the Clips will prefer, of course) is that the team will try to bring him back shortly before the playoffs start, possibly at the end of March. Also, remember the four-game suspension he’ll need to serve upon his return for the punching incident.
There’s still a fair amount of time to do so and given the way the Clippers have changed their game plan and rotation so much in Blake’s absence to incorporate a small-ball approach, they won’t just throw Blake straight into the starting lineup with regular minutes.
It will shake up the team’s current rhythm too much, and as he’s coming back from a pair of injuries he’ll be eased in at first. He won’t be given his typical 35 minutes and be expected to average a near triple-double again like last year right on time for the playoffs.
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Hopefully for the Clippers, they can bring Griffin back into action for a couple of weeks before the postseason. Because until we hear anything else, it certainly doesn’t sound like he’ll be coming much sooner.