Just as Blake Griffin seemed on the verge of returning to the Los Angeles Clippers' lineup from a quadriceps injury, the franchise announced that he now will be out an additional four to six weeks with a broken hand.
Other outlets are reporting that the injury stemmed from a fistfight Griffin had with another Clippers employee, who is neither a player nor a coach. The employee and Griffin allegedly are friends.
The team issued the following joint statement from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and Head Coach Doc Rivers regarding the incident:
"L.A. Clippers forward Blake Griffin suffered a spiral fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand throwing a punch on Jan. 23 in Toronto.
This conduct has no place in our organization and this incident does not represent who we are as a team. We are conducting a full investigation with assistance from the NBA. At the conclusion of the investigation, appropriate action will be taken.
Griffin received X-rays on Jan. 25th in Los Angeles that revealed the injury and he underwent a procedure on his hand Tuesday morning. The procedure was performed by Dr. Steve Shin. Recovery time from the injury is approximately four to six weeks."
The Clippers have adjusted well to Griffin's absence thus far, as Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan both increased their production over the past few weeks, and role players Cole Aldrich, Paul Pierce, J.J. Redick, and Luc Mbah a Moute also have made significant contributions.
However, with Griffin now expected to be out for at least another month, the Clippers again find themselves scrambling to deal with the absence of their All-Star. Whenever Griffin does return, there will likely be a further re-adjustment period just to get the team's chemistry back in order.
By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services
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