Blake Griffin Injury: Torn Meniscus Is Blessing in Disguise for LA Clippers Star

Blake Griffin injured his left knee during a scrimmage with Team USA on Thursday afternoon. However, this unfortunate accident might not be the worst thing for the young superstar’s career.

The Los Angeles Clippers PF initially tweaked the same knee during the 2012 postseason and elected not to have offseason surgery after the San Antonio Spurs eliminated his team in the Western Conference semis.

Instead of getting the knee repaired and taking some time off, Griffin began preparations to play for Team USA. Chairman Jerry Colangelo suggested this is likely the cause of the torn meniscus.

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"The reality is, that injury took place at the end of the season," Colangelo said. "And he had an option to get scoped and he opted not to get scoped. And so, I guess he aggravated it. Whether he's able to play now remains to be seen."

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It was later reported that Griffin would miss the Olympics. While this news may be devastating to the 23-year-old and his dreams of bringing glory to his country, it has to be almost relieving to the Clippers.

Instead of dealing with yet another severe injury to a familiar spot (Griffin was forced to miss the entirety of 2009-10 with a broken left kneecap) that may have happened during the regular season, Blake will have plenty of time to recuperate and prepare for the upcoming year.

Clips coach Vinny Del Negro certainly doesn’t seem to mind that Griffin will not be heading to London.

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"We're relieved that this does not affect Blake's ability to be ready in time for training camp," Del Negro said in a statement. "Missing out on the Olympic experience will be tough for him to take. I know how dedicated he was to doing that. We're glad we can get this fixed now and take advantage of the available time for him to fully recover."

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By getting this injury to his unhealthy knee out of the way in the offseason, Griffin can now undergo proper medical treatment and a full rest and rehabilitation period, rather than putting rigorous and repeated stress on his legs.

It should pay dividends when the Clips prepare for another postseason run in 2013.