Injury Bug Bites Clipper's On Opening Night

Only the Clippers.

Blake Griffin — the team’s top pick and face of the franchise even though he hasn’t played a game yet — is out for up to six weeks with a stress fracture in his left kneecap. Once again the injury bug has bitten a Clippers star, and this time it didn’t even wait for the season to start (tonight, against the Lakers).

How did it happen? Last Tuesday against the Hornets, Griffin blocked a shot on one end, raced down the floor on the fast break, got fed the ball back and just about jumped out of the building on a monster dunk.

He was up so high and landed just right, causing the injury. No collision. No being knocked to the ground. Griffin just jumped very high, landed wrong and he got a stress fracture in his knee.

Only the Clippers.

Injuries to key Clippers is a long and scary tradition. Danny Manning was the top pick overall by the Clippers in 1988, he had just carried Kansas to a national title. He showed all that promise as a rookie, until he blew out his ACL midway through that season. Manning had a long career but was never quite the same. This trend continued all the way through last year, when Baron Davis, Marcus Camby and seemingly every other Clipper on the roster missed a number of games due to injuries.

Now it is Griffin, although this is an injury he should bounce back from just fine. This is far from career threatening. Still, this takes the wind right out of the Clippers sails. They have quality depth this year — solid veterans Craig Smith and Rasual Butler, not to mention high-flying youngster DeAndre Jordan all should see increased minutes because of this.

Still, it’s hard not to think of the team as cursed when its top players just seem to be going down. On their own dunks.

Only the Clippers.