Blake’s 100 percent with a newly improved quad tendon
Blake Griffin is 100 percent healthy again. After dealing with the toughest season of his career, first struggling with a partial quadriceps tear longer than expected, then breaking his hand in the infamous Matias Testi incident, and finally being ruled out the playoffs early as his quad flared up again, Griffin and Clippers fans want nothing more than good health.
Blake Griffin says he's 100 percent.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) September 26, 2016
Well, that’s exactly what they have now. And Griffin may even be in better condition than before.
Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com reported some comments from Doc on how Griffin has looked in practice at the start of training camp, saying that Griffin was often insistent to stay on the court:
"“He looked great. He went the whole practice, which I didn’t like, actually. Three or four times, someone tried to get him out and he wouldn’t come out. That tells you he’s feeling good, but you have to be careful with that.”"
Griffin himself spoke on the matter, and said that his quad tendon could be in its best condition since high school:
"“It just looks like a brand new tendon,” Griffin said, after seeing the results with his doctor. “No tendinitis, no anything…The doctor was like, ‘This is probably as healthy as your tendon’s been since high school,’ just because of the nature of how much basketball we have to play… “I’m just excited to be healthy, to have a full summer of really good workouts and just to get going. When basketball’s taken away from you, it makes you hungry for it again.”"
While a player saying they’re “100 percent healthy” may be a fairly mundane and cliché media day response, hearing that Griffin’s quad tendon is in such good condition is particularly promising. After struggling with poor diagnosis in the season and the injury lingering for far longer than it should have, this is exactly what Griffin needs to resolve the issue for good and move onto the new season with good health and a clear mind.
Next, the matter of starting small forward. Which, as of right now, is completely up in the air.