The Los Angeles Clippers have not been short on drama over the past few days. The team will continue without star Blake Griffin for the next four to six weeks after he broke his hand punching a team employee. That has started a whole whirlwind of rumors that the Clippers will try and put behind them as they head to Atlanta to face the Hawks on Wednesday.
The clippers announced Tuesday that Griffin would miss time for the broken hand after he was set to return from a partially torn left quad muscle. Griffin reportedly punched the team equipment manager, breaking his hand in the process and frustrating his teammates. The Clippers have managed to survive without him during this stretch of games and that will have to continue while he remains out with the injury.
Los Angeles has gone 12-3 without Griffin in the lineup, so the team will certainly not miss him too much. They are fresh off a win over the Indiana Pacers where they survived thanks to a missed 3-pointer from Paul George. Head coach Doc Rivers told the media that the Clippers need that win to boost moral on the team following the drama with Griffin. The forward had been averaging 23.2 points per game, but Chris Paul and JJ Redick have heated up to replace him. The duo combined to go 8 for 18 against the Pacers from long range which helped in the win. Paul has been on a tear from the 3-point line. He is currently 26 of 46 in his last nine games while averaging 22.6 points. Redick has been averaging 20.3 points which could cause headaches for the Hawks.
Atlanta has been struggling lately. Their four-game West Coast road trip did not go well but ended on a high note with a win over the Denver Nuggets. The recent struggles of the team have forced trade rumors to surface around Jeff Teague. However, the point guard stepped up against the Nuggets, helping Atlanta to shoot 50 percent as a team. The 119 points was a nice change from the 88 they managed against the Sacramento Kings and the 95 added against Phoenix. The Hawks will have Paul Millsap back in action while Teague aims to silence the drama with another solid game.
