The Los Angeles Clippers announced on Saturday that power forward Blake Griffin will miss the remainder of the postseason with a toe injury. What initially thought a bruised bone in the foot, team physicians, later on, discovered the injury was worse than that.
The Clippers’ press release stated that Griffin suffered an injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe during Friday’s 111-106 win over the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of their first-round series. All of a sudden, the Clippers are facing a daunting task of winning their first-round matchup with Utah despite leading the series 2-1.
Griffin was averaging at least 25 points and six rebounds in the first two games of the series, before logging in just 18 minutes in Game 3. Without their leading scorer in the series, Los Angeles would need better production from their reserves, especially backup power forward Marreese Speights.
The toe injury did not only deal a big blow on the Clippers’ championship aspiration, but it also provides a dent on Griffin’s hope of making into the All-NBA teams. Being selected to one of the three year-end All-NBA squads makes the player eligible for a significant pay hike in his next deal.
Favors holding his own
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder lauds Derrick Favors’ effort to defend the interior despite playing limited minutes in the regular-season.
Snyder believes the 25-year old big man did a solid job in filling the void left by center Rudy Gobert, who missed the last two games after suffering a knee injury in the first minute of Game 1. Favors averaged 10 points and 6.3 rebounds in 34.3 minutes per game, 11 minutes more than his averaged playing time in the regular-season.
“You don’t have to look any further than the guy played 38 minutes and he hasn’t played that many minutes all year, He’s battling. He’s competing, playing hard, and we’re asking a lot of him right now. We’re going to keep doing that, and he’s going to give us everything he has,” Snyder told the media during the post-game press conference.
Gobert injury update
Gobert is in danger of missing his third straight game, as he’s still listed doubtful for Sunday’s pivotal Game 4. The Jazz are trying to equalize the series at 2-2 but will have to play again without their starting center due to the knee injury. Based on MRI results, Gobert avoided structural damage in his knee, but the swelling around the area hasn’t subsided yet.
“That said, a final decision on Gobert's status has not been made, and an official call likely won't come until after the team's medical staff can evaluate him at shootaround Sunday morning,” per ESPN.
