Blake Griffin is coming back to play for the Los Angeles Clippers after missing the past three months with a quad injury, but he’s still not fully healthy.
Speaking with reporters Saturday, via Dan Woike of the Orange County Register, the All-Star forward revealed he still has a tear in his quad and that he and the medical staff weren’t initially “doing the right things” to improve his condition.
“We weren’t addressing the initial problem, the main problem. Everything I was doing was just putting more stress on my knee. The small tear became a three-month thing because I wasn’t doing the right things until we figured it out.
“… It just wasn’t being allowed to heal. The tear is still there. It’s just about managing the pain and getting through this. It’s not a new tear. I wasn’t re-tearing my knee in different places. I wasn’t allowing the initial injury to completely heal.”
Both Griffin and head coach Doc Rivers mentioned the need for caution early as Griffin works himself back into the lineup. The forward admitted it would be difficult because he wants to make up for lost time.
“This will test my patience a lot,” Griffin said.
Given this revelation, Clippers fans might need to temper their expectations about Griffin’s impact during the final games of the season. And, depending on how things go, he could be limited the rest of the way into the playoffs as well.
The Clippers have fared well without Griffin since he was forced out of the lineup late last year, going 30-15. That said, the club has struggled recently without the athletic big man, losing five games out of six before going 4-1 in their last five.