Basketball Clips' Griffin to rest shoulder strain 3-4 weeks

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Blake Griffin lived up to top billing at the Las Vegas Summer League. Now he'll have to fly under the radar.

The Los Angeles Clippers announced on Wednesday that the rookie forward will spend the next three to four weeks resting a strain to his right shoulder. He suffered the injury in the third game of the five-game summer schedule but still went on to be named the league's most outstanding player.

The No. 1 overall pick in June's draft out of Oklahoma averaged 19.2 points and 10.8 rebounds during summer league play.

He was examined on Tuesday by Clippers team physician Dr. Steven Shimoyama. The diagnosis was confirmed by specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum.

The Clippers said that Griffin will not participate in Team USA's minicamp starting Wednesday as a precaution. That may hurt his chances of playing next year in the world championships.

U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said Tuesday he was looking forward to seeing Griffin play this week.

The minicamp is being used to identify candidates for available spots on the U.S. team in the world championships. Griffin could still be invited to compete for a spot next summer with a strong NBA season.

 

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Dunleavy: Griffin's hurt shoulder should be fine

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said he doesn't expect Blake Griffin's shoulder injury to have a lingering effect on the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.

The club revealed on Wednesday that Griffin has a strained right shoulder that will require three to four weeks of rest. He was hurt in a July 16 summer game against Memphis in Las Vegas and will miss this week's minicamp for USA Basketball.

Clippers physician Dr. Steven Shimoyama diagnosed the injury Tuesday and it was confirmed again by Dr. Lewis Yocum in a second examination.

"The good news was they never mentioned surgery or any kind of a deal," Dunleavy said Thursday. "That was the first great news.

"I'm disappointed to hear anything which puts him on the shelf because of his great work ethic. He had improved so much in the short period of time he was with us prior to going into summer league. But I don't think it'll be a major setback for him at all."

Griffin still played in the final two games for the Clippers in Las Vegas and was picked as the league's most valuable player after averaging 19.2 points and 10.8 rebounds.

Dunleavy, also the club's general manager, also talked about his acquisition of guard Sebastian Telfair and forwards Craig Smith and Mark Madsen from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday for Quentin Richardson.

"We just had the opportunity to add a lot of depth to our team," Dunleavy said.

Telfair is likely to back up Baron Davis at the point, while Smith, an L.A. native, will compete for time in the front court and help push Griffin after averaging 10.1 points last season with Minnesota.

 

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