Clippers’ injuries save Warriors’ championship chances

With Chris Paul likely out for the NBA playoffs and Blake Griffin struggling with persistent quadricep issues, the Los Angeles Clippers’ new injuries may have just given the Golden State Warriors a clear path to defend their title.

With one of the most costly, playoff-altering slips that could occur in the NBA, Stephen Curry fell to the ground, twisting his knee at a painfully awkward angle to cause a Grade 1 MCL sprain. In the moment of those worrying Monday MRI results, the Golden State Warriors’ certain second-round destiny was reversed. At least, they were reversed until the Los Angeles Clippers lost their own point guard and best player just hours later as Chris Paul broke a bone in his right hand, causing a distressful finish to Game 4 against the Portland Trail Blazers.

In a manner that was just as trivial and routine as Curry’s incident, Paul suffered a third metacarpal fracture in his right hand on a play he makes all the time, reaching for the ball in an attempt to break up a Gerald Henderson drive to the rim.

"Rough night for the Clippers as CP3 and Blake suffer injuriesDoc Rivers: “It obviously doesn’t look very good.”https://t.co/Fic4NILXRu— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 26, 2016"

Losing Paul was enough. As he left the court in sheer anger over such a small play having such a massive impact, later leaving the arena donning a cast and sling, more worrying health issues threw a heavy dose of luck towards the Warriors and their relieved fans.

After sitting for the end of the fourth quarter, noticeably limping and shuffling on the court while clutching his leg in concern on the bench, Blake Griffin‘s quadriceps injury played up… again.

“We’re not sure with Blake yet, you know.” Doc Rivers said in his post-game press conference. “I think he’ll get evaluated tomorrow [Monday] when we get back. I would say 50/50 on the next game with him. I expect him to be back, but we don’t know that yet, so I don’t want to say much”.

With their best player out indefinitely and their second best player clearly not at the peak physical condition he needs to be in, the Clippers have gone from second-round favorites to an injury-ridden lost cause in less than 24 hours.

Of course, there was no guarantee that the Clippers would be able to advance past the Warriors in the second round. In fact, there isn’t even any firm guarantee that they’ll surpass the Blazers in the first round.

Even if Curry missed the first three games or so, there was no knowing whether the Clippers would be able to rise to the occasion and handle the remaining host of talent and depth that the champs still have at their disposal. Nevertheless, without Curry to gravitate defenders towards him like a black hole, thus freeing up L.A.’s defenders to focus on weaker shooters elsewhere, Doc’s seemingly doomed-to-fail squad had what was likely their best chance ever to reach the Western Conference Finals.

In a few blinks of an eye, though, as Paul shook his hand and stormed off the court, it was apparent that the Clippers’ floor general and vital perimeter defender wouldn’t be heading back into the game. No longer will he have the chance to face the world’s most unstoppable point guard late in the second round, and no longer will he have the chance to work against a weaker Warriors’ backcourt at the start of a Curry-less series.

In the absence of Paul’s poise, experience, and general Point God nature running the team, it’s now down to Austin Rivers and Pablo Prigioni to set up the offense against an elite group of guards consisting of Shaun Livingston, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala.

There’s no need to even discuss who’s favored in this altered matchup.

More clippers: Blake Griffin 50/50 to play in Game 5 vs. Portland

And without Griffin at his best, or anywhere near his relentless, triple-double-machine self from last season’s playoffs, the Clippers don’t have their secondary superstar to fall back on in the same way. A physically hindered Blake won’t find it as easy to compete with the likes of Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut in the post, which leaves even more pressure on him to recover and for the team’s shooters to step up more than ever.

Who, besides J.J. Redick (currently getting over a bruised heel and shooting only 40 percent in the first round), doesn’t leave a group of guards in a position to defeat the reigning champs when Paul isn’t around to create space and facilitate for others.

With Paul completely out of the picture and Griffin ailing along in the spotlight to replace him, the Warriors have once again claimed their edge in terms of depth, ball movement, and talent.

If Golden State ever deserved some luck as the first 73-win team to set their title run straight, they just got it in the best manner possible. Now, they can set their sights on either the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs — both of which are healthy and highly dangerous.

More from Clipperholics

• Grade the trade: Clippers shockingly land Trae Young in wild proposal
• 3 of the most overpaid players on the LA Clippers’ roster
• Trading for this player covers the Clippers’ biggest weakness
• How will the LA Clippers fare in the in-season tournament?
• Why the LA Clippers should steer clear of recent gold medalist waiver

“We’ve been in adverse situations all year with guys out. Guys have come through, and I expect us to do that at our place,” Doc said after Game 4, referencing a must-win situation for Game 5 against Portland.

The problem is that the second round won’t be like any kind of adversity they’re used to, though, should they make it that far. The Warriors aren’t any regular opponent even if they don’t have Curry for a few games, and this time the Clippers’ misfortune has truly come at a penultimate moment in the current era’s history.

Their brief chance after Curry’s injury to capitalize and make the Conference Finals disappeared sooner than it emerged, ridding the Clippers of the best advantage they could hope for.

Next: How the Clippers can win without Chris Paul

Now, whether they’re sitting back, watching the Warriors coast to the Conference Finals and possibly another title, the Clippers will see what they narrowly missed out on as they approach a new type of adversity: what happens to the core after this emotional, unpreventable failure?