Los Angeles Clippers Injury News: Chris Paul, Blake Griffin out for the Rest of the Playoffs
The Los Angeles Clippers fought hard even without their injured stars in Blake Griffin and Chris Paul; but all the effort wasn't enough to overwhelm a Portland Trail Blazers team that couldn't wait to get to the second round. After battling toe-to-toe in the first three and a half quarters in Game 5 Doc Rivers' depleted squad eventually succumbed to the Damian Lillard led Blazers, 109-98.
A stunned crowd in Staples Center, including Chris Paul dressed in civilian clothes, know for a fact that the season is likely going to be over for them in Game 6, where they play against the Blazers and their hostile Portland crowd. To add to the Clippers' misfortunes is the news that both Paul and Griffin are no longer seeing action the rest of the way.
Paul, who broke his right hand in the previous game, opted to have surgery, while Griffin aggravated his quad injury. Perhaps the only good thing to come out of this all is that the MRI result on the power forward's injury showed that there wasn't any additional structural damage.
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It really is difficult to picture this Clippers team reaching the Western Conference finals without their two superstars. As a matter of fact, they may not even make it past the first round again. They were the slight favorites heading into the series against a Portland side that entered the season as literally new team. No one thought the Trail Blazers would give LA a tough match up, but now, it's safe to say that no one is giving LA a chance to come out of this one as the victors.
The impact both players have on the team is just impossible to offset. Paul averaged close to 24 points per game prior to the injury; while Griffin contributed 15.0 points and 8.8 rebounds. Those numbers don't even reflect their importance in the team's offensive setup. With them gone, Rivers needs to come up with something that's nothing short of magic to escape the Trail Blazers.
