Blake Griffin News: Pro Sports Daily

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October 28

Los Angeles Times

"Where Amazin' didn't happen . . . This was supposed to be the NBA regular-season debut for one Blake Griffin, also fondly called Amazin' by his admiring Clippers teammates for his self-generated, live-action hoop highlights. Granted, it was always going to be a tough task to compete with the emotion of the Lakers' ring ceremony Tuesday night at Staples Center. But the news that the dynamic Clippers rookie power forward had a stress fracture of his left kneecap and could be out for up to six weeks deflated his teammates and the organization. Despite the brave words before the Lakers' 99-92 victory over the Clippers, the honest assessment was that the Griffin injury was a big setback for a ..."

Griffin injury won't keep Clippers down

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October 28

L.A. Daily News

"Clippers president Andy Roeser was walking quietly through the halls of Staples Center before Tuesday night's season opener against the Lakers. In case you were wondering, his chin was up and there were no visible signs of distress. On Monday, the team's prized rookie, Blake Griffin, was diagnosed with a non-displaced stress fracture on his left kneecap that will cause him to miss approximately six weeks. Clipper Curse? Actually, from the sorrowful tones people used in expressing their sympathy it was more like Clipper hearse? Not that they wanted to hear about it. "There is no curse," Roeser said. "We don't sit around and talk about it that way at all. I'm sure it's great for selling ..."

Blake Griffin has stress fracture in kneecap

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October 27

Los Angeles Times

"Clippers' rookie power forward Blake Griffin, the No. 1 overall draft choice in June, has a stress fracture of the left patella, or kneecap, and could miss as much as six weeks of the season. The news, released late Monday, came on the eve of the team's NBA opener, and the blow was a significant one, meaning the Clippers will be starting the season minus the fresh new face of the franchise and might be without him in the lineup for the first 20 games of the season. Tests revealed the fracture and a second opinion later in the day backed up the results and conclusion of the first doctor. A Clippers spokesperson said it is a non-displaced fracture. But the team will take a conservative ..."

Blake Griffin is learning his place

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October 23

Los Angeles Times

"Lessons for a rookie, Part 9. There's plenty for Clippers rookie Blake Griffin to remember and, by all accounts, he's doing a standout job, on and off the court. But even the most diligent of pupils can slip up from time to time. "Biggest thing I've learned?" he said on Thursday. "Being in somebody's spot when you're a rookie, you've got to move. I've been kicked out of so many spots." Such as the wrong chair on the side of the court, wrong seat on the bus, wrong yoga mat . . . and wrong shower. Shower? Griffin nodded. "You've got to remember," he said. "I think I've got it down now.""

Blake Griffin, goes all out in preseason debut

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October 10

Los Angeles Times

"Breathtaking? And how about adding breath-stopping to the mix? The Clippers' Blake Griffin managed to do just that in one memorable quarter in his highly anticipated NBA preseason debut, a 97-85 Clippers victory against the Portland Trailblazers on Friday night at Staples Center. In all, he had eight points on three-for-six shooting and five rebounds in 21 minutes. His second quarter featured mammoth dunks and one sequence where he went flying over the scorer's table and just as swiftly, recollected himself and displayed some showy ball-handling skills before turning it over. "I was trying to hustle," Griffin said. "Then went into the stands and the ball came right to me and I messed it ..."

Blake Griffin returns to very active duty

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October 9

Los Angeles Times

"Blake Griffin's basketball torture -- jokingly called "detention" by one of his Clippers teammates -- came to an official end on Thursday. Limitations were lifted and the power forward was free to roam and rebound at will during a high-energy scrimmage at the Clippers' training facility in Playa Vista. Of course, the so-called detention was for his own protection. And it wasn't because he'd done anything wrong. The Clippers rookie had been one tremendously frustrated No. 1 overall draft pick since he hurt his left knee a few days before training camp opened late last month. Griffin is scheduled to make his exhibition-game debut tonight at Staples Center against Portland. "It felt good, ..."

Clippers' Blake Griffin expected to play Friday's exhibition

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October 7

Los Angeles Times

"After suffering a knee injury five days before the beginning of training camp, Clippers forward Blake Griffin will participate in contact drills in practice Thursday and is expected to play in an exhibition game Friday night at Staples Center against the Portland Trail Blazers. "I've only been out a week, but it feels like a month," Griffin said after the Clippers practiced Tuesday. "Even watching practice is rough. It's worse that I'm completely dressed and I have the uniform on." His return could have been today. But Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy told his players after Tuesday's practice they would have today off if one of them made a half-court shot. Shooting guard Rasual Butler called ..."

Dunleavy: Griffin's recovery is moving forward

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August 18

Los Angeles Times

"After straining his right shoulder last month during the NBA's Summer League, Clippers forward Blake Griffin has practiced shooting while abstaining from any contact drills, according to Coach Mike Dunleavy. "Everything is moving forward probably even ahead of schedule," he said Monday at the Clippers' training facility in Playa Vista. Griffin, whom the Clippers selected out of Oklahoma as the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, suffered the injury in the third game of Summer League. Doctors estimated on July 22 that he would be sidelined three to four weeks. Griffin averaged 19.2 points and 10.8 rebounds in five games this summer. Dunleavy doesn't see Griffin's injury as an issue and thinks ..."

Strained right shoulder sidelines Blake Griffin

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July 23

Los Angeles Times

"Clippers forward Blake Griffin is expected to be sidelined at least three weeks because of a strained right shoulder he suffered during last week's Las Vegas Summer League, the team announced in a statement today. Two examinations on Tuesday prompted team doctors to advise that Griffin abstain from competition, starting with the USA Basketball National Team Mini-Camp that begins today. In the statement, the Clippers said Griffin will maintain the same level of lower body training and conditioning. Griffin was named the most outstanding player in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 19.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game and impressing Clippers Coach and General Manager Mike Dunleavy ..."

Total package: Clippers' Griffin has combo of speed, power

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July 16

USA Today

"It hasn't taken long for top NBA draft pick Blake Griffin to cause commotion on a team often starving for publicity.After his 27-point effort in an NBA Summer League game this week, the Los Angeles Clippers' rookie power forward returned with the team to their hotel. While in a narrow corridor, a group of fans noticed Griffin and surged forward in hopes of meeting him and getting an autograph. "Mostly grown men, so it wasn't really my crowd," Griffin, 20, said. "It was a little crazy, but it died down." If Griffin continues to make the strides that are expected, it won't be long before those across all demographics will be jockeying for position when he approaches. In two games here, ..."

Griffin impresses in Summer League Debut

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July 14

L.A. Daily News

"The first time Blake Griffin handled the basketball as a professional, he won the opening tip Monday night. The second time he touched the ball, he made a layup for the Clippers' first points in their 93-82 summer-league victory over the Lakers. Then he made a short bank shot on the Clippers' next possession. Then he stepped to the perimeter and hit a 3-pointer the next time he got the ball. And so it went. Griffin scored 27 points on 11-for-15 shooting, grabbed 12 rebounds and added one assist in his first 29 minutes, 34 seconds as a Clipper. He left the game in the final minute to a hearty ovation from an estimated 3,000 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center. David Stern, the NBA ..."

Clippers make way for Griffin

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July 2

L.A. Daily News

"Not to worry, Blake Griffin will have plenty of room to operate. The Clippers agreed to a deal Wednesday that will send power forward Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for guard Quentin Richardson, according to two NBA sources with knowledge of the deal. Though the Clippers were reluctant to trade Randolph - a solid 20-point, 10-rebound- a-game player whom they had targeted in a trade last season - the move was made to clear playing time for Griffin, the No. 1 overall pick in last week's draft. Due to league rules, the deal can not be completed until next week. Randolph was the team's leading scorer and second-leading rebounder last season. He averaged 20.9 points, 9.4 ..."

Clippers' No. 1 pick Griffin rolls up sleeves and gets to work

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June 30

L.A. Daily News

"Clippers assistant general manager Neil Olshey's phone rang at 8:30a.m. Saturday. Surprise, surprise. It was Blake Griffin. The newest Clipper, selected first overall in Thursday's NBA draft after more than a month of buildup, had flown into Los Angeles and was ready to get to work. "I got a call from him asking if I could track down the strength and conditioning coaches to get him into the gym," Olshey said. "And by 11a.m. he went through a full weight workout, got treatment, was on the floor for two hours and was right back at it again. "How many guys," Olshey asked, "are going to get a full 2"

Is Clippers' Griffin ready to take on L.A.?

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June 26

Orange County Register

"Newest Clipper Blake Griffin was the top story in the glamorous L.A. sports market after Thursday night's NBA Draft. The Clippers hope Griffin can help them make noise for the rest of his career, too. Regularly an afterthought in shadows of the Lakers, UCLA and recently USC, Los Angeles' other basketball franchise officially selected the standout All-American with its top overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. "When nobody expects you to do something, you have time to work, time to build, and hopefully that's what we'll do," Griffin said. "Hopefully over the next year or two years make playoff pushes and become a team that's regularly in the post season." One draft can't rewrite the Clippers' ..."

Clippers stay true to word and draft Blake Griffin

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June 26

Los Angeles Times

"Taking Blake Griffin with the No. 1 selection in the NBA draft was the incredibly simple move for the Clippers, the painfully easy open jumper, if you will. Now comes the hard part. "It's definitely going to take time, and it's not all about me," said Griffin on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. He was speaking minutes after the Clippers took him at No. 1, just the way General Manager and Coach Mike Dunleavy said they would do so back on the night of the draft lottery in May. The 20-year-old from Oklahoma was accurate when he said it wasn't all about him. So, who else will it be about? And who won't it be about? Those will be the pressing questions in the giddy aftermath of ..."