Griffin needs surgery; C's have LA's pick

Griffin needs surgery; C's have LA's pick

By Chris Forsberg | February 8, 2015 2:58:15 PM PST



Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin will undergo elbow surgery due to a staph infection and will be sidelined indefinitely.

The interest factor for the Boston Celtics? Boston owns the Clippers' 2015 first-round pick (via the Doc Rivers trade). That pick is currently projected around No. 23, but if the Clippers were to struggle during Griffin's absence, it could improve a bit.

Some Celtics fans might daydream of the Clippers slipping into the lottery, but Los Angeles currently sits sixth with a healthy 4 ½ -game edge over the eighth-seeded Suns.



bob
MY NOTE:  Wouldn't it be ironic if the Celtics snuck into the playoffs and the Clippers fell out?  We wouldn't have the better pick but we would have the worse record.

One more injury, one more, and it could happen.  It doesn't even have to be a major one, just one that keeps Jordan or Paul sidelined for a few games.  I feel a little ghoulish talking like this but it is the truth.


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Blake must have serious infection, just heard hes out for 6 weeks....very interesting?

We could have 2 lottery picks this year as I don't see that team coming together.

Staph infections are a big deal. I think Griffin's is more problematic because it involves the elbow bursa and isn't just a localized skin infection.

From what I've read, it's not yet known what kind of staph it is. There are many different types, and if it turns out to be a MRSA (methicillin-resistant staph aureus), then he could be out even longer.

From what I understand, doctors are going to surgically flush the bursa, load it up with antibiotics, and then put him on IV antibiotics. This doesn't always do the trick, and they may have to do the flush/treat surgical procedure again.

Hopefully, they caught it early, the treatment will go well, and he'll be back after the all-star break, but this could get tricky.

It will not hurt my feelings if this guy has to sit out a few weeks and his team loses a few extra games.

A few extra ping pong balls obtained from another team can only help the Celtics.

Bad luck for Blake and Doc. As far as I'm concerned, the lottery order will take care of itself, and Danny will do the best he can with the deck he's dealt. I'm primarily interested in expending my energy on rooting for the Celtics in their development process.

Sam

Curing staph can be a lengthy process. I wish Blake well.

worcester wrote:Curing staph can be a lengthy process. I wish Blake well.

Worcester,

Yes, a lengthy and successful recovery.


bob



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Presently there are 22 teams with worse records than the Clips. They could easily slip down into the mid or high teens.

worcester wrote:Presently there are 22 teams with worse records than the Clips. They could easily slip down into the mid or high teens.

It's not only a matter of how good their records are. When it comes to determining draft order, all teams get dumped into two buckets: those who don't make the playoffs (draft positions 1-14), and those who do make the playoffs (draft positions 15-30).

If the Clips could fall out of the playoffs in the West, their pick would be no lower than 14th, even if they have the 10th best record in the league.

Last season, Phoenix drafted 14th even though they were tied with Toronto and Chicago for the 10th best record in the league.

That's good news.