Clippers’ Season Unravelling After Chris Paul, Blake Griffin Injuries

Once in possession of a 2-1 series lead over the Portland Trail Blazers and faced with the possibility of playing a Stephen Curry-less version of the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Los Angeles Clippers have seen their postseason promise turn into utter despair. 

Not just because they dropped Game 4 Monday night and allowed Rip City to even up the first-round clash, but because Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will no longer be helping out. Without the two stars, it’s unlikely the Clippers can survive the Western gauntlet, and their ability to win even two more games is in serious doubt. 

Toward the end of Monday night’s contest, the All-Star point guard was trying to steal the ball away from Gerald Henderson, and the seemingly innocuous play turned disastrous when he broke his right hand: 

Since then, he’s undergone surgery that will force him out of the lineup until a re-evaluation in four to six weeks, per NBA.com. Though there’s always a chance he could beat that timetable, does anyone really expect the Clippers to be playing meaningful basketball after even two weeks without him? 

“Major, major blow,” Jamal Crawford explained to reporters after his teammate suffered the devastating injury, as relayed by Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram (h/t Los Angeles Daily News). “I just feel bad for him personally, because I know how much he puts into the game and how much he gives himself for the team.”

Somehow, that wasn’t even the worst diagnosis this former contending team received after Game 4.

Griffin also pulled up lame, aggravating his quad injury while drawing a foul on Mason Plumlee late in the proceedings. According to NBA.com, he’s been ruled out for the entire postseason, and CBS Sports’ Ananth Pandian subsequently showed that one projection model has this news putting a significant damper on the team’s first-round chances:

This is a serious setback for the Clippers and will likely derail any further success they have in the playoffs. According …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com