Team USA not concerned over Blake Griffin punching Clippers employee
Ten months ago, Blake Griffin was one of the three best basketball players in the world. Before the Los Angeles Clippers were upset by the Houston Rockets in last year's Western Conference semifinals, Griffin was a jackhammer who habitually drove coast-to-coast with ease.
Given his size, speed, strength and coordination, NBA basketball had never seen anything quite like it.
Then things fell apart.
Griffin's 2016 has been a disaster. A couple months ago, he broke his hand punching a Clippers team employee in the face—an injury that could cost him the rest of the regular season—but apparently Team USA won't hold it against him:
Far more significant than that incredibly dumb decision is how the Clippers have played without their 26-year-old superstar.
They're 24-8 since he went down with a hamstring injury on Christmas Day, tying the Toronto Raptors for the third highest winning percentage in the league over that stretch:
It reminded serious NBA observers just how limited Griffin's skill-set can be. He doesn't protect the rim, isn't as versatile on defense as his athleticism suggests he should be and can't shoot threes. Why would Team USA select him when they can just grab Draymond Green instead?
Top 5 players don’t get injured and see their teams play as good if not better when they are out. https://t.co/gHxajNS8pn
— Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) March 8, 2016
It's all very troublesome. Griffin's stock has never seen darker days.
