The Utah Jazz have been operating without Rudy Gobert since the opening minute of the team’s first round series against the Los Angeles Clippers but the No. 5 seed has managed to stay afloat. Now, the NBA world will find out if the No. 4 seed Clippers can function as well without a key cog, as All-Star power forward Blake Griffin suffered a toe injury during the second quarter of Game 3 that will keep him out for the remainder of the evening.
Clippers say Blake Griffin has a bruised right big toe. Better than it could have been, but will not return tonight.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) April 22, 2017
Los Angeles was +6 in Griffin’s 18 minutes in Game 3, and he left the game just prior to halftime with 11 points and six rebounds in the box score. More than that, though, the Clippers are built around the strong nucleus of Griffin, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and J.J. Redick and few teams of their quality are more star-driven.
It remains to be seen just how long Griffin will be out of the lineup with the injury, but the Clippers must adjust in a hurry. There is not a clear “replacement” for Griffin on the roster, though head coach Doc Rivers could turn to some combination of Paul Pierce, Mo Speights, Wes Johnson and even Brandon Bass to fill power forward minutes until Griffin returns.
The Clippers aren’t as formidable without Blake Griffin in the lineup, and that is an obvious reality. With that said, the two teams are now “even” with two of the best players in the series unavailable (at least for the time being), and the playing field is closer to level in a highly anticipated series.
