Containing Zach Randolph proved a problem for a fully healthy Blake Griffin, Z-Bo dominated that match-up in games 3 and 4.
Then in a practice before Game 5 Griffin jumped and came down on the foot of Lamar Odom, twisting and spraining Griffin’s ankle. He tried to give it a go in Game 5 but after a decent start you could see the pain growing, and by the third quarter he had to step out. Randolph scored 25 points and had 11 rebounds (five on the offensive glass) in the Memphis win (Memphis leads the series 3-2).
The Clippers might be without Griffin again.
X-Rays confirmed a high ankle sprain for Griffin and he is officially day-to-day, reports Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Other word out of the Clippers’ locker room is there is a lot of swelling (we’re talking an ankle the size of a grapefruit) and even if Griffin can go in a do-or-die Game 6 for Los Angeles on Friday night he will not be the same player.
Chris Paul will play in Game 6 but he has a bruised left thumb, Markazi reports. Paul had 35 points for the Clippers on Tuesday and played his usual strong game, but he didn’t get a lot of help. Los Angeles can’t afford anything less than the
Vinny Del Negro has been accused of being slow making adjustments in this series. That is true, but it’s also a matter of DeAndre Jordan not executing and Blake Griffin not physically able to execute (due to his ankle) any plans that might exist to slow the bruising Memphis front line of Randolph and Marc Gasol.
Del Negro called out Jordan for his play, and came off as a frustrated and nervous coach. And he should be if the Clips get bounced in the first round.