Blake Griffin Injures Knee in Scrimmage, Team USA Recalling Anthony Davis

It seems that there has been a curse cast upon the big men of United States men’s national basketball team. Blake Griffin is the latest to fall victim to misfortune in the weeks leading up to the 2012 London Games.

Update: Thursday, July 12 at 11:45 p.m. ET by Ryan Rudnansky

After Blake Griffin tore his left meniscus, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2012 NBA draft, Anthony Davis, will replace him on Team USA, per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:

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As expected, Anthony Davis has been chosen to replace Blake Griffin on the Team USA roster, a source close to Davis tells Y! Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 13, 2012"

Update: July 12, 2012 at 11:28 p.m. EST by Tim Keeney:

Blake Griffin has a tear in his left meniscus. The recovery period is about eight weeks, meaning he will miss the entire Olympics. The news comes from The Los Angeles Times:

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Blake Griffin has been diagnosed with a meniscus tear in his left  knee and will have arthroscopic surgery probably early next week, according to NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

"

Bad news for Team USA fans, but Clippers fans can breath easily, as Griffin is expected to be ready for the start of the season, and even possibly training camp. 

------End of Update------

Even after seeing video of the injury, it's unclear how severe the knee injury is. Griffin is in visible pain, which has to be worrisome for both Team USA and the Clippers.

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Clippers superstar hurt his left knee during a scrimmage and will be returning to Los Angeles to see team doctors.

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Blake Griffin hurt his knee in a Team USA scrimmage Wednesday and is returning to LA to be examined by team doctors, sources tell Y! Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 12, 2012"

This news is scary, as the injured knee is the same one the dunk artist sprained during the Clips' 2012 postseason.

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Blake Griffin injured his left knee, the same one that he sprained during the Clippers playoff run, source tells Y! Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 12, 2012"

The insider noted that the seriousness of the injury, which is being described as a twisted knee, is currently unknown. An MRI could happen as soon as today.

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Blake Griffin "twisted" the knee in a scrimmage, source says, and the severity is unclear. He's expected to get an MRI as soon as today.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 12, 2012"

Team USA is currently in Las Vegas, preparing to take on the Dominican Republic in an exhibition game at 9:00 p.m. ET at the Thomas & Mack Center on UNLV campus.

Griffin was one of the few healthy players that could play power forward or center left on the roster, which is why this injury is so devastating.

Woj reported that Team USA brass resorted to calling up talented but raw prospect Anthony Davis—who was just cut from the squad on Saturday. This year's No. 1 NBA draft pick will be expected to fill the void.

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USA Basketball has summoned Anthony Davis to report to Las Vegas for training camp immediately, sources tell Y! Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 12, 2012"

Blake’s injury puts him in an unfortunate club of banged-up national team bigs that includes Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh.

Considering that Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler are the only other true 4 and 5 on the roster, respectively, the New Orleans Hornets rookie, Davis, is likely going to play a major role off the bench.

Stay tuned, and we’ll keep you updated here on B/R throughout the day with the latest breaking news, information, opinions and analysis on Blake Griffin’s knee injury.