http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...geles-clippers-set-return-tear-remaining-quad <from above ESPN article> Clippers star Blake Griffin said Saturday that he'll be playing with a tear in his left quadriceps tendon when he resumes his season on Sunday against the Wizards after a three-month absence due to injuries and a four-game suspension. "It just wasn't being allowed to heal," Griffin said before practice. "So, the tear's still there. It's just about managing the pain and getting through this. ... It's not like a new tear or re-tearing my [quad] in different places. It wasn't allowing the initial injury to completely heal. Lakers. There was hope that Griffin had recovered enough to rejoin the active roster during a late January road trip, but once on the trip, it was determined he was unlikely to play. Griffin subsequently broke his hand in Toronto after an altercation with a team assistant equipment manager. "I don't want to say misdiagnosed, but it wasn't doing the right things, I guess? We weren't addressing the initial problem -- the main problem," Griffin said. "So, everything I was doing was putting more stress on my [quad]. A small tear became a three-month thing because I wasn't doing the right thing until we figured it out." Coach Doc Rivers said Griffin would likely start on Sunday, but was unsure as to what the 27-year-old's workload would be initially and moving forward with seven games left in the regular season. "I don't know if it'll be a [minutes limit] or just a limit because you haven't played in three months and so you just have to watch," Rivers said before practice. "I don't care if you're healthy and 100 percent. You just got to be careful. You don't want to throw a guy out there and let him get injured because you're overplaying him. So we just have to be very careful." Griffin's initial expectations for himself seemed equally malleable for the remainder of the season. "Honestly, I won't know really until I get out there," Griffin said. "I mean, I've done drills -- simulated drills -- for this week. I practiced for the first time last Saturday. So, I don't have a really good feel for in-game conditioning and endurance. That'll kind of be a thing we figure out as we go along."
Sounds like he may not be fully healthy until next season. Got to think this helps us in a first round series. Although even without Griffin they'll be a handful. Then look at Warriors with Iggy, Bogut, Ezeli injured. So many injuries last few years with major playoff implications. Seems like the NBA is now becoming more a war of attrition. This keeps up who knows we could be given a golden opportunity of making a conference finals run.
I think they're more dangerous without Griffin, they spread the floor better and defend better without him.
Too bad we lose those games against game against Memphis on the Zach tip, we'd have the 5th seed basically locked.
I think the 5th seed is going to happen regardless of the tip in. The way I see it, we have 3 should wins (SAC, MIN, DEN), 2 toss ups (MIA, OKC), and 1 should lose (GSW) The best I see MEM finishing is 43-39, but I think 42-40 is more realistic.
Oh man I want that 5 seed bad now. I think our small line up can give them fits if Blake isnt strong enough to abuse aminu/harkless.
Maybe against average teams in an NBA season, but not against the leagues best. They were damn good last year; hell they beat the Spurs in the playoff. The Spurs were unbelievable last year once everyone got healthy and we're winning 90% of their games. The Clippers starters got so fatigued and worn down they collapsed against the Rockets. This year their vulnerable with all the injuries and still have bench issues. Their certainly a dangerous opponent to any team. CP3 has totally dominated Dame on both ends.
