debut has been pushed back indefinitely after the Los Angeles Clippers
revealed late Monday night that their No. 1 overall draft pick has a
broken left kneecap.
The stress fracture could sideline the Oklahoma star for six weeks, the team announced, promising further information Tuesday.
Griffin, who averaged 13.7 points and
8.1 rebounds per game during the preseason, won't be in the Clippers'
lineup when they face the Lakers in their opener Tuesday night, and he
could be out much longer. The Clippers play 20 games in their first six
weeks of the regular season.
Griffin apparently broke his kneecap
during the Clippers' final exhibition game against New Orleans last
Friday, perhaps after a dunk that left the power forward wincing in
pain. The team initially said Griffin only had a sore left knee, making
him questionable for the opener, before revealing the break.
Griffin was the consensus college
player of the year with 22.7 points and an NCAA-best 14.4 rebounds per
game last season for the Sooners.
After the Clippers won the draft
lottery and selected him, Griffin strained his right shoulder during a
summer league game in July. The team brought him back cautiously, and
Griffin said he was totally healthy in the preseason.
His latest injury is a sadly
unsurprising setback for the star-crossed Clippers, who won just 19
games last year in an injury-plagued season. Los Angeles has just two
winning in the last 30 years and just one playoff series victory since
moving to town in 1984.
Los Angeles was mostly healthy going
into this fall, with point guard Baron Davis and center Chris Kaman
both ready to play after missing chunks of last season. The Clippers
actually have solid frontcourt talent with Marcus Camby, Al Thornton
and Rasual Butler alongside Griffin.