It’s already out in the ether, but Blake Griffin won’t be in action until after January 1, per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
The grand effect of this announcement on the Clippers’ fortunes this year is minor. Apart from eagerness and an intense desire to see Griffin perform in a Clippers’ uniform, precaution should far exceed anticipation as a motivation for suiting up a player. The competitive Western Conference doesn’t offer a lot of room for the Clippers to contend this season for a playoff spot — particularly with teams like Houston, Utah and Oklahoma City outperforming expectations.
Back on October 31, Kevin Pelton at Basketball Prospectus spoke with Dr. Bill Carroll, author of Carroll Guide to Sports Injuries. With regard to Griffin’s treatment, Carroll wasn’t terribly impressed with the strategy:
The bad news is it sounds like they intend to treat it conservatively rather than surgically attach wires–conservative treatments usually lead to less successful results and subsequent reinjury if the athlete is to continue to perform at a high level. I have seen the ESPN replay of the injury and it appears to happen when he landed after dunkiing–since it is a stress fracture, that event can actually be no more than the ’straw that broke the camel’s back’ as a stress fracture is the result of repeated microtrauma–a case where subthreshold traumas accumulate and become threshold trauma.
Was Carroll correct in that the course of action chose for Griffin’s treatment led the medical staff to push back Griffin’s start date for fear of, as Carroll stated, subsequent reinjury? Who knows. As Mike Dunleavy routinely says when asked about injury timetables, “I’m not a medical person” — though it’s odd that the medical people were so imprecise with their initial prognosis.
Either way, the news is disappointing for a team that needs a jolt of energy, particularly on the glass where Griffin will provide the most help. On the other hand, I’d be more concerned if the organization made a calculated decision to rush Griffin back, whether out of impatience, a desire to sustain fan interest, or out of sheer carelessness.
28 Responses
Clippers are in desperate need of some Eric Gordon!
And maybe try putting Ricky Davis or Steve Novak outside of Kaman. Butler is in a slump ( not bashing) and Dunleavy should try new things.
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kenji Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 7:51 am
i agree. Novak gets heat for not being a defender, but Butler isn’t doing any better on defense either. I say put Butler’s ass at the end of the bench with Pretty Ricky. Clips need Novak’s sharp shooting to spread the floor for Kaman. Did Dunleavy forget Novak’s shooting efficiency last year over the off-season?
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rmb Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Yes, atleast play Collins, Skinner, Smith and Telfair more often.
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Can we change the “fire dumleavy” chants to “fire Powell”?
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Wow I had not seen that Carroll comment. Really brings into question the decisions made by the medical staff….unless most NBA teams go the same route.
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
jolt of energy maybe?
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I’m pretty sure we’ve had all the “jolt of injury” we can take for now.
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Gordon for President Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
KA, not that I am harping on typos, just bad joo-joo.
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Can someone ask Clippers brass about the Clippers recurring injuries situation? It would be nice to have some accountabililty from the training staff. When the same things break down repeatedly, week after week, you can usually chalk it up to incompetency and not supernatural curse. In a normal organization, Jasen Powell would have been fired a long time ago.
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Well, can’t say I’m surprised. he’s a clipper. his career will be ravished with injuries and bad luck. Bill Simmons was right when he said Blake should have ran to Europe when the Clipps landed the first pick.
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ghost_ride Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
He’d be in Europe with the same injury.
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
from what i understand, powell is just the trainer. Kind of like a paramedic, I think it’s the quality of the doctors. Maybe Sterling has his personal doctor as the team doctor as well. There is now way Powell could have prevented the stress fracture. He is not Dr. Jason Powell.
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
wow, one year after another this is really starting to make me angry. Is it that much to ask for a team who comes out and brings it every night? Is anyone else as sick of this as I am? Dunleavy has fielded a team of losers and still has his job where is the accountability and why hasn’t anyone been called out? Terrible Simply TERRIBLE
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
fire powell, fire dunleavy, fire the owner. get rid of the damned team.
im a hopeless clipper fan and over it.
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
trade Butler off for a slasher SF like Durant or Odom type or even a draft pick back lmao..
i just think the problem is with the:
Small Forward position
Coaching
Training Staff
Thornton can’t do it all him self
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kenji Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Clips better not re-sign Butler in the off-season. The guy is worthless. There’s a reason New Orleans dumped his ass for nothing.
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SamMays Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Add Baron to your list and lets start building from there.
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
trade off Butler, Skinner, Rush, and maybe R. Davis for a SF or a backup SG
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SamMays Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 8:30 am
I can see the teams lining up for that package now.
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Posted on December 4th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Sign Gilbert Arenas. He is never injured.
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Posted on December 5th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Who will go off against the Clips tonight. Jones? Hansborough? Dunleavy Jr?
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neiljphx Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Pacers SF Danny Granger scored 26 points on Friday in a loss to the Jazz. Granger shot 7 of 19 from the field with two threes. He grabbed eight rebounds with three assists, two steals and a block.
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Posted on December 5th, 2009 at 11:26 am
I hope the game is going to be interesting at least.
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Posted on December 5th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
who misses Fred Jones?
i know dunz didnt
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Posted on December 5th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Zbo or Qrich…either one would have done great for LA this year but nnoooooooooooo……
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Posted on December 5th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
The Clippers seem to be the best in the league at creating optimism, using smoke and mirrors, and slight of hand. Their very short on results and quality coaching.
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Posted on December 5th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Lmao baron was talking to ahmad rashard and (I’m paraphrasing) ‘we definitely have the talent to reel off 15 or 16 straight ‘
lmao. One things for sure, I knew the west would be done and it is. Seeds 6-8 won’t be near 50 win teams
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Posted on December 5th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
reality is setting in, this team is just not that good. another coach might be able to squeeze out a few more wins but there is no way this is a playoff team. probably no better than 30 wins. Blake will probably play half the year, hopefully he does not re-injure himself and comes back next year and breaks out…but how does this team attract free agents with another crap season?
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Posted on December 5th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
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