Blake Griffin‘s postseason is over. According to the Los Angeles Clippers, the toe injury that Griffin suffered during the team’s 111-106 win over Utah in Game 3 is so bad that he’s getting shut down for the rest of the year.
Clippers to announce that Blake Griffin out rest of playoffs with injury to plantar plate on his right big toe.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) April 22, 2017
Griffin suffered the injury to his right big toe late in the second quarter on Friday. Initial reports suggested that Griffin – who averaged 25 points in Los Angeles’ first two games this postseason – suffered a bruised toe after x-rays were negative.
https://twitter.com/SportsLeakers/status/855619063829078016
Obviously this is a massive blow to the Clippers – Griffin was great in the first two games of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, and the team’s bench isn’t especially deep. If there’s any good news for them, it’s that Utah is still playing without Rudy Gobert, who hasn’t fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered in Game 1. Obviously that can change depending on how Gobert’s recovery goes, but for now, neither team is at 100 percent.
Still, this is huge for Los Angeles, which currently holds a 2-1 lead in the series over the Jazz. The team’s hopes of a lengthy postseason run were so dependent on what Griffin, Chris Paul, and DeAndre Jordan would be able to do. Now that Griffin is out, it’s probably going to take herculean efforts from Paul and Jordan for the Clippers to make it much farther than the conference semis.
As for Griffin, this is heartbreaking, as this is the second year in a row where he suffered an injury in the postseason that ended his season. It also means that Game 3 could have been his final game in a Clippers uniform – his contract has a player option for next year, so he could potentially hit free agency this summer (he is slated to make about $21 million if he stays in Los Angeles).
It’s going to be fascinating to watch the Clippers this offseason, as both Griffin and Paul can hit free agency if they choose. But for now, the team’s sights are going to be set on Game 4 against the Jazz, which tips off on Sunday night.
