Clippers' Blake Griffin has sprained MCL; recovery could take two months
Griffin went down with a nasty looking knee injury, but the Clips are 'relieved' the injury wasn't worse
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The already injury-plagued Los Angeles Clippers were almost ready to throw in the towel when All-Star Blake Griffin went down with a knee injury in Monday night's win over the Lakers.
Fortunately for the Clippers and their fans, it appears that Griffin dodged a bullet. According to a team press release, Griffin suffered a sprained MCL and could miss two months while he recovers.
🚨Press Release🚨
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 28, 2017
Blake Griffin, who left last night’s game 🆚 the Lakers in the 4th quarter due to a left knee injury underwent an MRI which revealed a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) sprain w/ no other structural damage to his knee. Recovery for this injury can take up to 8wks
Griffin hasn't played more than 67 games in a season since 2014 due to various injuries. The Clippers have already seen point guard Patrick Beverley sidelined for the rest of the season due to microfracture knee surgery, and offseason acquisitions Danilo Gallinari and Milos Teodosic have missed significant time as well. After a 4-0 start to the season, the Clippers went 1-11 before their current three-game win streak.
SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh crunched the numbers on what Griffin's injury does to the Clippers' playoff chances, and it's not good. They fell from a 63 percent chance to just an 18.9 percent chance, and their win total projection dropped from 42 to 36.9.
| LA Clippers | Wins | Win % | Playoffs | Conference | Win West | Win NBA Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Before Griffin injury | 42.0 | 51.2% | 63.1% | No. 9 | 0.59% | 0.13% |
Griffin out two months | 36.9 | 45.0% | 18.9% | No. 11 | 0.12% | <0.01% |
Impact | -5.1 | -6.2% | -44.2% | -2 | -0.47% | -0.12% |
Things certainly aren't looking good for the Clippers, but the news that Griffin's injury isn't season-ending is surely a relief.
