Blake Griffin to miss remainder of playoffs with toe injury

It's deja vu for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Power forward Blake Griffin will miss the remainder of the playoffs with an injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe, the team announced Saturday.

Griffin suffered the injury during the first half of Friday's win over the Utah Jazz. He left the game in the second quarter and did not return for the second half. The Clippers managed to escape with a 111-106 victory in spite of his absence.

This marks the second straight season in which Griffin and the Clippers have been rocked by untimely injuries. The 28-year-old star was limited to 35 games last season due to a torn left quad, a broken hand suffered during a fight with a team staffer, and the ensuing suspension from the incident.

Griffin managed to return in time for the playoffs, but re-aggravated his left quad at the same time that Chris Paul broke his hand, thus precipitating the Clippers' first-round exit at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Los Angeles could conceivably advance to the second round without Griffin in the lineup. Paul is healthy this time around, the supporting cast is deeper, the Clippers hold a 2-1 series lead, and the Jazz are also banged up with Rudy Gobert out of the lineup.

But that's where it gets tough. The Clippers will most likely face an old nemesis in the Golden State Warriors in the second round, and losing Griffin robs the Clippers of what little chance they had at an upset.

The longer view is even more bleak. Griffin holds an early-termination option in his contract, thus allowing him to test free agency this offseason. The Clippers would like to keep the same core intact, but having gone through so many postseason heartbreaks, there is no guarantee that everyone will be back. Griffin has spent the entirety of his seven-year career in Los Angeles, and is the main reason for the Clippers' revival as a franchise.

He managed to make 61 appearances this season around a minor right knee surgery, averaging 21.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while shooting 49.3 percent from the field.