Clippers' Blake Griffin expected to play Friday's exhibition
The No. 1 draft pick, who suffered a knee injury five days before training camp began, will participate in contact drills in practice on Thursday.
By Mark Medina
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 the Clippers' exhibition game Friday night at Staples 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 his bluff and swished his attempt. ("I heard we weren't going to have practice anyway," Butler said).
At least Griffin no longer feels he's castigated in basketball purgatory, the result of being a self-admitted gym addict; the inactivity frustrated him. Dunleavy says Griffin will come off the bench and play between 20 and 24 minutes Friday primarily at power forward.
"He's been bouncing off the walls," Dunleavy said of Griffin, whom the Clippers selected as the 2009 No. 1 draft pick. "We've been holding him back, which is driving him crazy."
In his debut, Griffin says he plans on demonstrating his knowledge of the Clippers' playbook and hustling for rebounds.
"I honestly feel like there needs to be a guy like that on every team," he said.
"When you have a guy like that who's willing to do the dirty work, it takes a little bit of pressure off everybody else."
