Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers will undergo surgery Feb. 9 on his right elbow and is out indefinitely, according to Marc Stein of ESPN. The star power forward developed a staph infection in the right elbow he has had drained previously.
Blake Griffin out indefinitely with right elbow injury
The Los Angeles Clippers’ power forward to undergo surgery, will miss four to six weeks as long as procedure is successful.
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
There is no set timetable for Griffin’s return to the court because of the severity of the procedure, but if all goes well, Griffin is projected to miss four to six weeks, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. He will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.
Griffin is averaging 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game for the Clippers this season. He leads the team in scoring.
The injury can't come at a worse time for the Clippers, who are currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak and have lost four of their last five games. Their upcoming schedule is brutal, with eight of their next games coming against teams in the playoff hunt. Heading into the matchup Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they're 33-18, good enough for the sixth-best record in the Western Conference.
The Clippers' high-powered offense has an offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) of 110.4, which is tied with the Golden State Warriors for tops in the league. The loss of Griffin should impact that statistic. With Griffin on the court, the Clippers' offensive rating bumps up to 114. It drops to 100.3 when he's off the court.
Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and the rest of the Clippers will have to find a way to survive without one of the most athletic players in the NBA.
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