Rivers: 'Unrealistic' that Griffin will miss 4-6 weeks
Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers called Blake Griffin's expected four-to-six week recovery period from a broken hand "unrealistic" Tuesday as he addressed the injury the forward sustained by punching a team equipment manager.
"I always say, four-to-six weeks with a broken hand is unrealistic, I'll tell you that," Rivers told reporters ahead of the Clippers' game against the Indiana Pacers.
Griffin had yet to return to action from a quadriceps injury when he broke the fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand taking a swing at team employee and apparent friend Matias Testi outside a Toronto restaurant over the weekend.
Related: Clippers condemn Griffin incident, investigating with NBA
The injury will almost assuredly keep Griffin out of the All-Star Game back in Toronto. The six-week mark would put a possible return in the second week of March, a month before the regular season comes to a close.
The incident occurred Saturday night, the day before the Clippers took on the Raptors. Griffin did not sit with team on the bench during the game.
Doc said he found out what happened with Blake before the Toronto game Sunday morning. He thinks he misjudged the impact it had on the game.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) January 26, 2016
"I know exactly how but you don't ever know why," Rivers said, according to ESPN's Arash Markazi. "How does anything get to this? How does it get to a place where punches are thrown? ... for this to happen this is a hit for our guys."