Advertisement

Blake Griffin is active in training camp after recovering from his quad injury

Clippers forward Blake Griffin, right, posts up against Portland Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu during the first half of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round playoff on Apr. 23.
(Craig Mitchelldyer / AP)
Share

Coach Doc Rivers carefully drew up an out-of-bounds play for the Clippers’ second team to run against the first unit on Wednesday.

It didn’t amount to much, as reserve forward Brandon Bass threw the inbounds pass right into DeAndre Jordan’s waiting arms before Jordan playfully dribbled the other way.

“That’s what y’all drew up?” yelled Blake Griffin from his defensive position at the free-throw line, his voice filling U.C. Irvine’s Bren Events Center.

Advertisement

And what was most significant in the moment was that Griffin was still on the court as the day’s three-hour practice wound down.

“He playing great, he’s playing great. Again, I didn’t know what to expect, he started playing the last two or three weeks before camp started,” Rivers said of Griffin, who spent the summer working back from a quad injury that sidelined him during last season’s playoffs and for the Olympics in Rio.

“Where I’m a little surprised with Blake is his conditioning. He’s probably one of the best conditioned guys, so that’s a feat. To not play and be in that type of shape means he had to work pretty hard,” Rivers said.

Griffin went through the whole practice Wednesday, as did everyone else on the training camp roster. It is only two days into camp — and a month still separates the Clippers from their regular-season opener in Portland — but Griffin’s health answers one of the few questions facing the veteran-heavy team.

Clippers point guard Chris Paul said he isn’t surprised at the shape Griffin is in. By Paul’s estimation, the star power forward is returning as a more versatile offensive player.

“He’s shooting the ball a lot better, he actually stretches it to the three [point line] a lot more now and stuff like that,” Paul said after practice. “We’ve been together for a while now, you’re not surprised when you see different things from him.”

Advertisement

Griffin attempted just 18 three-pointers in 35 games last year, but continued to refine his mid-range game while averaging 21.4 points in the limited action. Paul said Griffin’s outside shot will open up the floor for the Clippers and complement the perimeter threats the team already has in J.J. Redick and sixth man specialist Jamal Crawford.

“We gonna tell him to shoot damn near every time he catches it,” Paul said of Griffin. “I don’t know, it’s one of those things that I’m sure we’ll see when the games come [depending on] how comfortable he is with it. We’ve had the confidence in him for a while.”

For now, it’s just good to have Griffin back on the court and looking like his normal self.

Or maybe even a bit better.

“Blake’s had injuries before and he’s come back, and he’s just that committed to working out, training and being great,” Paul said. “When you’re as good of a player as Blake is, you don’t expect anything less.”

jesse.dougherty@latimes.com

Follow Jesse on Twitter: @dougherty_jesse

Advertisement
Advertisement