Blake Griffin is close to a return for the Los Angeles Clippers.
And that could be a problem.
Griffin hasn’t played since Christmas and is now rehabilitating a fractured right hand that he suffered when punching the Clippers’ assistant equipment manager. He will serve a four-game suspension once he’s healthy enough to play, which, according to Doc Rivers, per ESPN.com’s Arash Markazi, will be pretty freaking soon:
Doc: "Blake's close. He's looking good. He's very close."
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) March 3, 2016
Getting Griffin back is, without a question, a good thing. He is a top-15 talent, and reintegrating a top-15 talent isn’t ever a nightmare.
But the Clippers will have to make some adjustments. They’ve enjoyed extra space in many of their lineups without Griffin on the floor. They throw four shooters around DeAndre Jordan and run spread pick-and-rolls and drive-and-kicks until they’re blue in the face. And not only is this working, it’s highly effective.
The Clippers just completed a come-from-behind victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night and are now 23-7 since Griffin went down. And during that time, they rank in the top five of both offensive and defensive efficiency, according to NBA.com. The San Antonio Spurs are the only other team that’s done the same over this stretch.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Clippers handle Griffin’s return, after he serves his suspension. Will Rivers look to stagger Griffin’s and Jordan’s minutes more? Might he try to stretch Griffin’s long-two range beyond the three-point line.
Everything is a possibility at this point, and the stakes are high.
If things don’t work out once Blake Griffin returns, if the Clippers get bounced early in the playoffs again, this core appears headed for a major shakeup.
