The Los Angeles Clippers currently sit in the fourth spot in the Western Conference with their 19-13 record but they recently suffered a major loss. Blake Griffin was diagnosed with a torn quad tendon that will keep him out for some time but the Clippers are hopeful that he will be able to avoid surgery, according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register.
As of right now the Clippers are going the rest and rehab route with Griffin's injury and the plan is to re-evaluate him in two weeks. Griffin injured the quad on Christmas against the Los Angeles Lakers and actually played through it for the rest of that game but he has missed the two games since. The Clippers gave Griffin a two week timetable after the injury which sounds incredibly short for an injury that seems so painful but odds are he will have to miss more than just the two weeks.
If in two weeks the Clippers aren't satisfied with the progress Griffin's quad has made then surgery becomes a very realistic option and that is bad news. Surgery would likely mean Griffin will miss a significant amount of time and while the team is talented enough to withstand an injury to their star forward for a short amount of time, they would be in trouble without him long-term.
Griffin leads the team with his 23.2 points per game but he has also added 8.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in his 30 contests this season. Griffin was likely well on his way to another All-Star game appearance and still might get in but this injury doesn't help his case.
The Clippers have won the two games Griffin has missed so far, against two good teams, and a big reason for the wins has been Paul Pierce. Josh Smith started the first game without Griffin but played just five minutes while Pierce players 27 minutes off the bench and had his best game as a Clipper scoring 20 points. Pierce moved into the starting lineup in the Clippers most recent game as Doc Rivers decided to go small and it seems like that's the way they will continue to go sans Griffin as Smith has really fallen out of favor in Los Angeles.
