It’s a tough day to be a Clippers fan.
Los Angeles announced on Tuesday, that forward Blake Griffin will miss the remainder of the postseason after re-injuring his left quad in Monday’s Game 4 loss to the Portland Trailblazers. Griffin missed 41 games with a partially torn left quad in the regular season.
The latest injury update for Blake Griffin
Details: https://t.co/eXmhvbC44Z pic.twitter.com/PxraJKsfsD— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) April 26, 2016
Point guard Chris Paul is also likely to miss the remainder of the playoffs after he was injured during Monday’s matchup as well. The team announced he underwent surgery and will miss the next 4-6 weeks.
“Major, major blow,” said Jamal Crawford. “I just feel bad for him personally, because I know how much he puts into the game and how much he gives himself for the team.”
The Clippers are currently tied 2-2 in their best of seven game series. They finally appeared to be healthy after a long run of injuries, but losing their two best players in essentially the kiss of death.
As Dan Woike of the Orange County Register noted, Los Angeles actually played great basketball when Griffin missed time with injury and suspension, going 30-15 in 45 games. The team’s defense locked down, having the fifth-best defense in the entire NBA. With that said, missing Griffin and Paul is too much to overcome.
The domino effect leaves the Clippers in terrible shape. Austin Rivers and 38-year-old Paul Pierce (or possibly Jeff Green) are likely to be inserted in a starting lineup with DeAndre Jordan, Luc Mbah a Moute and a hurt J.J. Redick. That lineup would leave very little spacing and create the big question of who exactly is going to score? DeAndre Jordan carried more of the load in Griffin’s midseason absence, but without Paul feeding him the rock, there aren’t going to be as many easy dunks and plays.
Rivers has actually proved he’s more than just the coaches son, but going from Paul to him is like going from a Lamborghini to a Toyota Carolla. Paul is arguably the best point guard in the NBA and simply can’t be replaced. Rivers is a below replacement level ball handler and passer.
The injuries also devastate Los Angeles’ bench. With two players elevated to the starting lineup, it leaves the Clippers with Jamal Crawford and Jeff Green as the primary scorers. Those are two guys that can go either very hot or very cold. Without them scoring at an efficient level, Los Angeles offense is toast. Aside from them, it’s a bare cupboard. Pablo Prigioni, Cole Aldrich, and Wesley Johnson are likely due to see decent playoff minutes, which is worst case scenario for the team.
Los Angeles has a very tough matchup against a young, fast and well-coached Portland team. They’ve got one of the best backcourts in the NBA with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum and have a handful of very good complimentary pieces. They had an outside chance to take down Los Angeles with Paul and Griffin, without them, the series might as well be over.
Unless there’s a miracle, the injuries mean the Clippers are finished. They entered the postseason with a good chance to make a long run, now, without Griffin and Paul, they’ll be lucky if they win another game in the first round.
