CLIPPERS INSIST GRIFFIN NEEDED FOR POSTSEASON
Chris Paul could see the question coming from a halfcourt shot away.
Might his Los Angeles Clippers be onto something in the Blake Griffin-less world in which they have lived since Dec. 26, this place in which they have won 22 of 29 games without their All-Star forward? Paul, whose team is fourth in the Western Conference, swatted the theory away with all the ferocity of a DeAndre Jordan block.
“We can’t win a championship without Blake,” Paul said recently. “We’re playing for a championship, and there’s no championship without Blake Griffin.”
As if the notion of solving the dominant Golden State Warriors wasn’t daunting enough, the Clippers have a unique internal challenge: Reintegrate Griffin without altering this synergy of the past two-plus months. Yet despite the drama that put them on this path — Griffin’s thigh injury suffered Christmas Day that was followed by a broken right hand from the Jan. 23 fight with the team’s assistant equipment manager in Toronto — this still has the potential to turn into quite an inspired tale that is equal parts turmoil and togetherness.
Especially if they’re telling the truth about the welcome wagon that’s waiting for Griffin upon his return.
“It was obviously a little tough, and those two guys are two of my best friends,” Jordan told USA TODAY Sports. “(But) boys are boys, you know what I mean? And stuff happens. You talk, fight about it, get over it, and that’s it. This is just on a bigger (scale). I think those guys are good, and as a team we’re focused on basketball. That’s what kind of got us through the nonsense.
“(Griffin is) obviously down that he can’t play. But he’s still working, doing his rehab and conditioning and all of that stuff just to get back, so we’re just trying to keep his spirits up.”
Maybe the Clippers’ #family tweet (which was later deleted) wasn’t just a messy public rela- tions move after all. And say what you will about that Feb. 18 message from the team’s official account that featured a picture of Griffin and Matias Testi lowfiving on the team’s bench, but the players themselves say it’s the familial approach that helped with the healing process.
Conflict is an inevitability in all circles, let alone in the macho realm of male professional sports. But Griffin’s fit of rage was different because it came against one of their own, a young man who is as much a member of the Clippers as Griffin. Yet from coach Doc Rivers on down, they say the matter is truly in the past.
The future, one in which Griffin gets healthy in time for the playoffs and returns after serving his team-issued four-game suspension, is far more promising than anyone would have guessed not too long ago.
“(The incident involved) both guys that (their teammates) like, so they felt bad when it happened,” Rivers told USA TODAY Sports. “But I think it was easy (to move past). Matias is on the road (with the team). Blake’s around. It’s been good. But it could have been bad.”
Who knows how the Clippers might be feeling about Griffin’s actions if they hadn’t found a way to win all these games?
It’s a question they have earned the right not to answer, though, by way of a post-Dec. 26 winning percentage without Griffin (.759) that is third in the NBA behind the Warriors (.893) and San Antonio Spurs (.862).
Their latest tough test comes Wednesday in Los Angeles, where the Clippers host an Oklahoma City Thunder team they trail by 2½ games in the West.
Yet even with the hoops harmony that has happened of late, it’s only natural that some residue will remain as long as Griffin remains out.
While he has no set timetable, the Clippers do expect him to be back on the floor in time for the postseason.
And when Griffin returns, they say, he’ll find open arms all around.
“We’re his support system,” veteran guard Jamal Crawford said. “We all love Blake. No question about it. We can’t wait until he gets back. This guy is the top shelf of NBA players. He averaged (23.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and five assists per game) — only a couple guys in the world put up those types of numbers.
“And we know him as a person, so we can’t wait to get him back. We’re just holding it down, doing what we do, until he comes back. He’s our big gun. We know that.”