Blake Griffin is ready to be back on court after recovering from successful knee surgery he underwent in late December. However the medical team must first declare his fitness before he returns to action.
Griffin is needed by the Clippers front court to work with DeAndre Jordan and fortify their defense. He will boost the team, according to FOX Sports. The Clippers have been struggling to win after Chris Paul suffered thumb injury last week and had a surgery which made him to miss 6-8 weeks.
In his absence, the Clippers head coach Doc Rivers put Luc Mbah a Moute as a starter in the power forward position. However Moute is not a consistent player, as he struggled in his first few games as the starter before finding his rhythm and declining again. Coach Rivers also rotated Brandon Bass which is slightly better than Moute.
Clippers management tried not to rush in to bring Griffin back on court. However, Griffin said on Saturday Jan. 21 about his readiness to return to action, as reported by ESPN. Until now, he has missed 19 consecutive games since mid-December, and the Clippers run 10-9 without the 6’10” player.
Coach Rivers expected the 27-year-old forward to run some drills before he put him back to the lineup. He and his training team continuously evaluate Griffin’s progress to determine exact date for his return.
"We just want him to go through a couple more before we play him," coach Rivers said before the game against Atlanta Hawks on Sunday Jan. 22.
He decided to hold on a bit longer to wait for full recovery of Griffin. Some expected him to be able to play in the Tuesday night game against Philadelphia 76ers. The Clippers surely need him to overcome the 76ers big men.
Watch the highlight of amazing play from Griffin in the game against San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 5 as he scored 28 points in the first half from the official NBA YouTube channel below: