Blake Griffin has become one of the best big men in the league and earned himself a spot on the Western Conference starting lineup this year. He sadly won't be competing in it though as he is out four to six weeks with a staph infection and will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break. This is not the first time Griffin has dealt with elbow problems though. He has been fighting bursitis throughout his entire career and has to routinely get his elbow drained. He most recently got his elbow drained on February 2nd while in New York but his elbow kept bothering him so Clippers' trainer, Jasen Powell, sent him to the hospital where he learned that he would have to have surgery to treat his staph infection. This is an infection that can spread throughout the entire locker room so the important thing is to keep everyone healthy and make sure it doesn't spread.
This is a huge loss not only for the Los Angeles Clippers but also the NBA. Blake Griffin is one of the most athletic players in the NBA and one of the few reasons to watch the defense-less NBA All-Star game. In my opinion, the only all-star game worth watching is baseball because they all play hard and it impacts the World Series. The NBA all-star game is fun to watch because of all the big dunks and alley-oops, but now arguably the best dunker in the game is out. There is no doubt that a lot of people will still tune in to watch, but losing Griffin may cause some people to turn away from the game. More importantly however, it affects the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers would be a three seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 33-19, sadly they're in the Western Conference, putting them as the seventh seed. Griffin is coming off one of the best years in his young career, one where he finished third in MVP voting. He has backed it up nicely with another good year; averaging 22.5 PPG (9th in the NBA), 7.5 RPG and 5.1 APG (a career high). Griffin has had another phenomenal year, even though a lot of his stats have gone down from last year. This year he is also shooting 50.1% from the field and a career high 71.8% from the free throw line. Coming out of Oklahoma his biggest weakness was shooting, so guys would leave him open and defend him from driving to the hoop. He still isn't the most consistent jump shooter but if he keeps improving then there will be almost no way to guard him, there are very few ways now. Either way Griffin is arguably the best power forward in the game right now and maybe the best player on the Clippers now, move over Chris Paul. This will be a huge loss for the Clippers but with a 5.5 game lead on New Orleans I don't think they will fall out of the playoff picture.
With the injury the Clippers will need to rely more on Spencer Hawes and Glen Davis. ESPN asked Doc Rivers about who will start in place of Griffin and he told them, "It will be Spencer most nights. But if a team has a different type of lineup, we'll change our lineup and have a makeshift lineup until we get Blake back." I think starting Hawes would be their best bet as he is a veteran player who has started many games throughout his career. Hawes has played in 42 games this year, averaging 6.1 PPG and 3.9 RPG coming off the bench. Starting Hawes will also give the Clippers one of the tallest frontcourts in the league, Hawes 7'1" and Jordan 6'1". After going the first 45 games of the season injury-less the Clippers now lost two starters to injuries, J.J. Reddick and Blake Griffin. Reddick missed his third game in a row on Sunday, the good news is Griffin may only miss three games if he comes back right after the all-star break.
This is a huge loss not only for the Los Angeles Clippers but also the NBA. Blake Griffin is one of the most athletic players in the NBA and one of the few reasons to watch the defense-less NBA All-Star game. In my opinion, the only all-star game worth watching is baseball because they all play hard and it impacts the World Series. The NBA all-star game is fun to watch because of all the big dunks and alley-oops, but now arguably the best dunker in the game is out. There is no doubt that a lot of people will still tune in to watch, but losing Griffin may cause some people to turn away from the game. More importantly however, it affects the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers would be a three seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 33-19, sadly they're in the Western Conference, putting them as the seventh seed. Griffin is coming off one of the best years in his young career, one where he finished third in MVP voting. He has backed it up nicely with another good year; averaging 22.5 PPG (9th in the NBA), 7.5 RPG and 5.1 APG (a career high). Griffin has had another phenomenal year, even though a lot of his stats have gone down from last year. This year he is also shooting 50.1% from the field and a career high 71.8% from the free throw line. Coming out of Oklahoma his biggest weakness was shooting, so guys would leave him open and defend him from driving to the hoop. He still isn't the most consistent jump shooter but if he keeps improving then there will be almost no way to guard him, there are very few ways now. Either way Griffin is arguably the best power forward in the game right now and maybe the best player on the Clippers now, move over Chris Paul. This will be a huge loss for the Clippers but with a 5.5 game lead on New Orleans I don't think they will fall out of the playoff picture.
With the injury the Clippers will need to rely more on Spencer Hawes and Glen Davis. ESPN asked Doc Rivers about who will start in place of Griffin and he told them, "It will be Spencer most nights. But if a team has a different type of lineup, we'll change our lineup and have a makeshift lineup until we get Blake back." I think starting Hawes would be their best bet as he is a veteran player who has started many games throughout his career. Hawes has played in 42 games this year, averaging 6.1 PPG and 3.9 RPG coming off the bench. Starting Hawes will also give the Clippers one of the tallest frontcourts in the league, Hawes 7'1" and Jordan 6'1". After going the first 45 games of the season injury-less the Clippers now lost two starters to injuries, J.J. Reddick and Blake Griffin. Reddick missed his third game in a row on Sunday, the good news is Griffin may only miss three games if he comes back right after the all-star break.
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