Los Angeles Clippers Forward Blake Griffin Injures His Knee
Stress fracture to knock him out for six weeks
by Badger of Predictem.com
Los Angeles Clippers rookie power forward Blake Griffin, the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft back in June, will have to wait at least a month before he makes his NBA debut after it was revealed Monday that he has a stress fracture of his left kneecap.
The Blake Griffin injury was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of his left patella late on Monday, and the Clippers announced that the forward out of Oklahoma could miss up to six weeks while he recovers from the broken kneecap. The injury is believed to have happened in the Clippers final preseason tune up against New Orleans on Friday when he landed following a high flying dunk and immediately winced in pain. Early reports are that the injury will NOT need surgery.
It’s not the first injury for the NBA’s top pick this preseason, as he was forced to miss a few weeks at the beginning of the preseason after he collided with teammate Craig Smith in training camp. After the Clippers team doctor diagnosed him with a broken kneecap, Griffin sought a second opinion that confirmed the original conclusion.
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Griffin, who battled tendonitis in that same left knee at Oklahoma and was rumored to have been playing in pain already, could sit out until December barring any setbacks. That means he could miss up to 20 games since the Clippers play that many games during the first six weeks of the season. He also strained his right shoulder in a summer league game and was brought back slowly as the Clippers tried to take the ultimate care with the new face of their franchise.
This is a major blow to the new-look Clippers this season. Griffin, who averaged 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds in the preseason, was expected to lead the Clippers revival this season after the other team from L.A. only won 19 games last season. The Clippers have just two winning seasons in the past 30 years and haven’t won a playoff series since 1984.
The Clippers open the 2009-2010 season Tuesday, October 27th on TNT against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.
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