Blake Griffin injury means it’s do or die for Los Angeles
By Keith Rivas
Another Blake Griffin injury is the last thing the Clippers need right now.
It’s hard enough trying to win in the playoffs. What makes it even harder is when your stars become either unreliable in their play or too injury prone.
Unfortunately, we’re seeing both of those bad things happen to Blake Griffin. Los Angeles is on what’s likely its final crusade with their core. Free agency means a shot at big money and offers from elsewhere for the stars that make the Clippers contenders.
Anything short of a title run puts their future together in jeopardy.
What’s worse for the Clippers is that this isn’t the first time it’s happened to Blake Griffin. The first round hasn’t been nice to the former Oklahoma Sooner, who missed major time a year ago versus Portland.
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Los Angeles ended up losing that series and saw things go downhill quickly from there.
Whether or not they’ll have players step up in Griffin’s absence is yet to be seen for the whole series. There’s no question that Game 3 belonged to Chris Paul, but he may not be able to maintain it.
Additionally, Doc Rivers has to come to the realization that Griffin is not his best player. Whether it’s in the clutch, in the beginning, or somewhere in the middle, the Clippers have to depend more on other guys.
It’s just the way it goes.
If Griffin were more reliable in the playoffs and able to stay healthy, it’d be a different story. Hopefully he can return to the series and make a positive impact moving forward, but the injury doesn’t help him one bit.
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Los Angeles will try to go up 3-1 in the series in Utah on Sunday. It’s crucial that they win to stay in the driver’s seat.