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Blake Griffin Ruled Out for Rest of 2017 NBA Playoffs with Toe Injury
April 22, 2017
Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin will miss the remainder of the NBA postseason after he suffered a right big toe injury during the team's 111-106 Game 3 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears relayed the team's official statement:
Griffin appeared to injure the toe in the second quarter of Game 3 after he converted a layup in transition:
Griffin was in the same situation a year ago, when the Clippers ruled him out for the remainder of the postseason when he aggravated a quad injury in Game 4 of the team's first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Now the Clippers, leading 2-1 against the Jazz, will have to find ways to compensate for Griffin's absence as they hope to avoid a first-round exit for the second year in a row.
However, that could be a tall task, as ESPN Stats & Info illustrated:
Based on the way head coach Doc Rivers distributed minutes Friday night, Marreese Speights should see a big bump in playing time in the Clippers frontcourt.
Rivers could also opt to slideLuc Mbah a Moute up to the 4 and move Paul Pierce into a bigger role at small forward.
The Jazz are also without a star in the frontcourt, as center Rudy Gobert missed Games 2 and 3 and almost all of Game 1 after suffering a left knee injury in the first minute of Game 1.
Game 4 tips off Sunday night in Utah at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
For more news, rumors and related stories about Blake Griffin, the Los Angeles Clippers and the NBA, check out the NBA and Clippers streams on Bleacher Report's app.