Report: Blake Griffin to miss playoffs with quad injury

After tweaking his quad on Monday night, Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers got the worst possible news Tuesday. Per Dan Woike of the Orange County Register, Griffin will miss the rest of the 2015-16 NBA Playoffs.

This is crazy bad news. Less than 24 hours ago head coach Doc Rivers said it was “50-50” that Griffin might be able to play in Game 5 of the team’s first-round series against the Portland Trailblazers. Apparently the tear that never went away is a bigger deal now than it was before the start of Game 4.

Now not only are the Clippers heading into the remainder of the playoffs without Chris Paul, who broke his hand in the same game, but Griffin won’t be there to pick up the slack.

The Trailblazers should dispatch the Clippers now heading into a best-of-three scenario, barring some miraculous play by the likes of DeAndre Jordan and J.J. Redick.

For the Clippers, this is just one of many “what could have been” scenarios. Paul won’t be in the prime of his career much longer, and the Clippers are already fighting an uphill battle in the Western Conference with the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs dominating.

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but that’s part of sports.