Blake Griffin begins 4-game suspension, expected to play April 3 when Clippers host Wizards

Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Blake Griffin of the L.A. Clippers looked so good in practice Saturday, that coach Doc Rivers announced Sunday morning that Griffin would begin his four-game suspension that afternoon against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center. That means he’ll be eligible to play next Sunday when the Clippers host the Washington Wizards.

Rivers said it was obvious Griffin is ready.

“Yeah, I kind of thought that before (the practice), but I still wanted to see him; that’s why I didn’t want to say anything,” Rivers said. “He wanted to practice the last practice we had (Tuesday) and we wouldn’t let him. Usually when a player starts talking that way, you know he’s ready to practice and wants to go out.

“We just felt like the extra three or four days to this practice would help. I think Blake would probably disagree with that. He thought he should have practiced the last one. But he looked great. He had no endurance as far as his wind, but as far as just playing basketball, he looked terrific.”

When Rivers told reporters Saturday that Griffin would practice for the first time, he said there will be some rust. He was right.

“It’s amazing watching what three months does, though, as far as memory of the sets and the timing,” Rivers said. “That wasn’t pretty. But overall, he looked good.”

Griffin first suffered a partially torn left quad tendon, an injury that was discovered after the Clippers beat the Lakers on Christmas night. Griffin then sustained a fractured right hand when he punched team assistant equipment manager Matias Testi on Jan. 23 in Toronto.
The hand healed quicker than the quad, which was unexpected. But Griffin is good now. Rivers was asked if he will start Griffin his first game back.

“It’s a good question,” Rivers said. “We figure we have five or six or seven, whatever, more days. And, honestly, I don’t know if you can get him in condition to play 35 minutes or 30 minutes right away. My guess right now is we’re going to start him.

“But when that day comes, we’ll know. The good news is, we’ll have practice – we could have two – but we’ll probably have just one before he plays. And the question, more importantly, is not the starting, it’s how many minutes in a row can he play. If you went by yesterday, it would be three, you know?”

Rivers was laughing.

The Clippers were 27-14 without Griffin before Sunday. He averaged 23.2 points and 8.7 rebounds before going down.