Los Angeles Clippers: The return of Blake Griffin
After almost one month on the sidelines, Blake Griffin returned to action for the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
When Blake Griffin first left the lineup with a sprained MCL, the Los Angeles Clippers were in dire straits. The injury came on top of a bevy of early season injuries for the franchise. Patrick Beverley, Milos Teodosic, and Danilo Gallinari were all also out when Griffin went down with his MCL issue. It would have been easy to declare that the season was over.
The Clippers, however, managed to stay afloat with Griffin out of the lineup. While they were not immensely successful, they did manage to stay within reach of the playoffs. Milos Teodosic helped give the team a boost when he came back, despite Gallinari’s brief return to the lineup.
The biggest buoy to the team’s hopes, however, was Blake Griffin’s speedy recovery. Griffin was originally expected to miss two months with the injury. Instead, he returned on Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers and put up 24 points, six rebounds and six assists in his first game back in a 121-106 win. With Griffin back in the fold, the Clippers could still fight their way back into the playoff picture.
Without Blake
The Los Angeles Clippers could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel with Blake Griffin and other critical players out of the lineup. As is unfortunately often the case, DeAndre Jordan was once again the only healthy starter for a significant period of time.
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Instead of floundering, the Clippers managed to hold it together. The team went 6-8 with Blake out of the lineup. Some of that had to do with Milos Teodosic, as the team went 4-3 in his seven games back without Blake in the lineup.
The Clippers also got solid contributions from other players as well. Jamil Wilson found his way into the starting lineup on a two-way contract, and C.J. Williams joined him after that. The team might not have impressed with Blake Griffin on the sidelines, but they did manage to keep their heads above water.
An impressive return
Blake Griffin was originally expected to miss up to two months with his sprained MCL. Instead, he came back in less than a month for the Los Angeles Clippers’ “away” game against the Lakers on Friday night.
Griffin did not just come back — he came back strong. He stayed in for 32 minutes to put up his a 24-6-6 line. Griffin did not just put up numbers in his return game, however, as the extra bounce he showed early this season (compared to last year) seemed to be out in full force:
Blake also had an impressive dunk early in the first quarter after a ridiculous pass from Milos Teodosic, as the Clippers jumped out to an early lead that they never relinquished. Griffin was involved from the opening tip and showed nothing but encouraging signs regarding his fast recovery.
Future outlook
The Los Angeles Clippers are currently ninth in the Western Conference, despite all of their early concerns. Unfortunately, the Clippers could not go a full game without an injury issue, as Austin Rivers left the game for good in the third quarter and was in crutches in the locker room, per B.A. Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
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The Rivers injury could be a long-term issue for the Clippers. However, the biggest news of the night was still the return of the team’s superstar. The Clippers managed to hang around in the playoff race despite Blake Griffin’s absence. His return could spark them back into the playoff picture.