The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that All-Star forward Blake Griffin will undergo surgery in Los Angeles on Monday, Feb. 9 to remove a staph infection in his right elbow. Griffin will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.
The procedure is scheduled to be performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache and assisted by Clippers team physician Dr. Steven Shimoyama.
This is a pretty devastating blow to the Clippers' attack and playoff standing right now. He'll miss at least three games, all before the break, when the Clippers face the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets. The Clippers are currently the 6-seed in the West, one game behind the Portland Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks for the 4 and 5 seeds.
Following the All-Star break, the Clippers face the Spurs, Grizzlies twice, and Rockets.
Griffin is having the best all-around individual season of his career. He's averaging 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and a career best 5.1 assists. He's also become a mild threat from 3-point range (38.1 percent) on just 21 attempts. His midrange jumper has become a very lethal weapon for him, making 40.7 percent of his shots from 16-23 feet.
He's had a history of bursitis in his right elbow over the years. Since missing his first year in the NBA with knee surgery, Griffin has been a picture of health on the court. He's played in 359 of a possible 363 games since that first season. He's helped the Clippers run the league's best offense this season, tied with the Golden State Warriors at 110.4 points per 100 possessions. With Griffin on the court, the Clippers score a ridiculous 114.0 points per 100. Without Griffin in the game, the offense drops to a 100.3 offensive rating.
Making up for his offensive presence won't be easy.
The team will have to lean heavily on the big man rotation of DeAndre Jordan, Glen Davis, and Spencer Hawes. They might even be able to give some minutes to Hedo Turkoglu as a stretch-4 in Griffin's absence. Griffin leads the team in scoring, shot attempts, and is second in assists. Hawes' passing ability can help facilitate within the flow of the offense, but part of the reason Griffin is so good at passing this season is because he draws a double team and is able to kick out to the right shooters.
Jordan, Hawes, and Davis combined have taken 14.6 shots per game. Griffin attempts 17.5 field goal attempts per game.
Figuring out how to replace his scoring will be tricky. Chris Paul can certainly take more shots, but he's also someone who has had to pace himself physically over the years as he gears up for the playoffs. The Clippers are using Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers as primary lead guards when Paul isn't in the game, so they can't afford for their other star to go down either.
Crawford and Paul are both having down years in scoring, but are capable of carrying the offensive load.
The Clippers probably don't have to worry about missing the playoffs. They're six games ahead of the ninth place Pelicans and 7.5 games ahead of the Thunder. Even if Griffin misses a month with this injury, they'd have to be a complete disaster on the court without him to fall out of the race. But going from competing for a top 4 seed to possibly falling to seventh or eighth could put them at the risk of being ousted in the first round once again.
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