Blake Griffin has been dealing with a partially torn left quad recently that has forced him to miss a significant amount of time. The Los Angeles Clippers forward was hopeful that he would be able to return from the injury during the team's current road trip and was travelling with the team but that will not happen. Griffin has been ruled out for the Clippers' next two games, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, and may have suffered a setback
Griffin has already missed 14 games withe the injury but that number will go up to at least 16 and possibly higher. Not only is Griffin out for the next two games but he is also listed as doubtful for Friday's game against the Lakers. The Clippers have gone 11-3 without Griffin so far but he is still one of their best players and they need him healthy to reach their lofty goals.
The Clippers are saying that Griffin did not suffer a setback in his recovery but the sudden change in their plan makes it seem like he might have. All along the plan was for Griffin to return at some point during this road trip which is why he was travelling with the team. Now though, the team has sent him back to Los Angeles where he will stay until he is ready to get back into game action.
The Clippers are saying that they want to continue to take it slow with their star forward and that they don't want him to return until he is in game shape and 100 percent ready to play. The Clippers are saying the right things in regards to why the plan changed so suddenly and it seems to be a smart decision to not rush him back especially when you consider their record without him. Having said all of that though, it is hard to imagine that there wasn't at least a minor setback here as Griffin was gearing up for what looked like a return on Sunday and now he is all of a sudden out until likely next week at the earliest.
Griffin is without an official timetable from the Clippers for a return but at this point it makes complete sense for them to be extra cautious. The team has only lost three times without him and the most important thing is having Griffin at 100 percent health for the stretch run and the playoffs.
