The Clippers were so good during the first three weeks of the season that they almost made us believe that this might finally be their year. Right before Thanksgiving, they rode a seven-game win streak to a franchise-best 12-2 start, held the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference standings, and boasted the league’s most stifling defense. But the lava has cooled significantly since then.
Before Thanksgiving, the Clippers had the NBA's best record thanks in part to defense.
After Thanksgiving, that hasn't been the case… pic.twitter.com/B3ZgRSDEb4
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 19, 2016
They’re 6-4 in their last 10 games and have fallen all the way to the fourth seed. Now, just as last year, they’ll have to navigate through a portion of the season without one of their best players. According to Dan Woike of the OC Register, Blake Griffin is set to undergo a minor knee surgery and could miss anywhere from 3-6 weeks.
Griffin will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Tuesday to remove “loose bodies,” which could be bone or cartilage fragments causing the discomfort. The procedure is expected to sideline him between three and six weeks.
The surgery is considered minor and the team expects a full recovery. Griffin missed more than half of last season with a torn left quad muscle, an injury that initially sidelined him in late December.
The team is obviously hoping for the shorter recovery period, which would have Griffin back in action somewhere around January 10. Despite games against the Spurs, Rockets, Thunder, and Grizzlies during that stretch, the other seven teams they face are well below .500 for the season. Even if his rehabilitation carries him through the end of January, they’ll still only face two more teams with winning records.
And if history is any indication, the Clippers have discovered ways to excel in Griffin’s absence. Last season, they were 30-15 as he battled various injuries (some self-inflicted). Meanwhile, Chris Paul turned into an MVP candidate, and DeAndre Jordan established himself as a dominant force in the paint. Given the controversy surrounding Griffin’s incident with a team equipment manager, it led some to speculate that the team might be better off without him.
During that period, it was mostly the then-38-year-old Paul Pierce who was (however admirably) filling Griffin’s role. This time around, however, they have a solid backup in Marreese Speights who they can plug into the starting lineup, as well as two other capable forwards in Luc Mbah a Moute and Brandon Bass.
But it doesn’t change the fact that Griffin’s latest setback comes at a pretty inopportune time for a group suddenly struggling to find its footing. There are plenty of other teams out West that would love to take advantage of their plight. The Rockets, who have been on a blistering 10-game win streak, have already zoomed right past them.
There’s a trio of other teams nipping at their heels, as well, including the Jazz, the Grizzlies, and the Thunder, all of whom are separated by just three-and-half games in the standings. As indicated above, they’ll face Memphis and OKC (potentially twice) over the next month without Griffin. Depending on how things pan out, Los Angeles could ostensibly plummet to the No. 8 seed before his return, as unlikely as that may seem.
It’s going to take some savvy coaching on the part of Doc Rivers, and some heavy lifting from the rest of the roster, particularly Paul, to help them traverse this terrain. They’ve done it before, and at the risk of devolving once again into hyperbole, the future of Lob City may depend on it.
