The Los Angeles Clippers will have to continue their NBA playoff run without one of their best players.
The team announced Saturday that power forward Blake Griffin will be sidelined for the remainder of the postseason due to an injury to the plantar plate in his right big toe.
Griffin sustained the injury in the first half of Game 3 against the Utah Jazz on Friday. He would not return to the game, but the Clippers mounted an impressive second-half comeback en route to a 111-106 victory, giving them a 2-1 series lead.
This is not new territory for Griffin and the Clips. The five-time All-Star suffered a quad injury in Game 4 of Los Angeles’ first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers last season. He missed the rest of the series, which Portland eventually won in six games.
This is not the first injury Griffin has sustained this season either. He previously missed 18 consecutive games after having surgery on his right knee.
The Clippers-Jazz series has been defined by injuries to the frontcourt. Along with Griffin, Jazz star center Rudy Gobert suffered a knee injury 17 seconds into Game 1 and has been sidelined since.
Thumbnail photo via Jeff Swinger/USA TODAY Sports Images
