By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The LA Clippers announced that both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will miss the rest of the playoffs.
Paul underwent surgery on his right hand Tuesday morning and will be reevaluated in four to six weeks after fracturing his third metacarpal in the third quarter of Game 4.
It’s a devastating hit for a Clippers team that relied on Paul to score at least 25 points in each of his last five playoff games entering Monday night, not to mention his ability to distribute and the calming influence he provides on a nightly basis.
Blake Griffin will miss the remainder of the postseason after aggravating the left quad injury that kept him out for half of the regular season.
Griffin, who missed 41 games this year with a partially torn left quad tendon, felt a tweak in the same quad while getting fouled in the third quarter Monday night by Mason Plumlee.
He went to the locker room with the sore quad before trying to return to the court, but that effort didn’t last long, as he watched the end of the game back on the bench. Griffin said he hoped the next 24 or 48 hours would have him turning a corner. That, however, won’t be the case.
An MRI on Tuesday morning revealed no further structural damage, and Griffin will be ready for the start of training camp next season, but his 2015-16 playoffs are done.