Los Angeles Clippers Injury Rumors: Blake Griffin Also Dealing with a Broken Hand
Blake Griffin's return from a quadriceps injury suffered back in December will have to be postponed as the Los Angeles Clippers have already confirmed that the star forward is also suffering from a fracture on his right hand. The injury will sideline him for at least four weeks.
While Griffin is no stranger to injuries, this new one is somewhat controversial because of how he allegedly got it. According to several earlier reports and confirmed by a joint statement issued by team owner Steve Ballmer and head coach Doc Rivers, the hand injury was caused by him hitting a member of the Clippers' equipment staff during an argument in a Toronto restaurant.
While the NBA and the Clippers are still doing their own investigation on the matter, it became pretty clear that Griffin was on the wrong side here, the basis of which is contained in the statement from Ballmer and Rivers, which reads:
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"This conduct has no place in our organization and this incident does not represent who we are as a team. We are conducting a full investigation with assistance from the NBA. At the conclusion of the investigation, appropriate action will be taken."
There are no other details being handed out so far, but it is quite obvious that the staff member received multiple blows from Griffin owing to the fact that the first overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft suffered a broken bone on his shooting hand, specifically the fourth metacarpal. The team later announced that he underwent a successful surgery to repair it.
The 26-year-old former National Player of the Year led his team in scoring prior to the December injury. The Clippers are currently hanging on to fourth place in the tough Western Conference midway through the season. After winning a tight one against the Indiana Pacers, 91-89 tonight, they'll go up against the Atlanta Hawks tomorrow with Griffin still out.
