blake griffin's progress (Blake to Practice this Week, Pg.2)

[Canomad]

how is he coming along? originally people thought he would be back a few days before christmas. now i hear late january. are they doing this on purpose to make sure hes 100% healthy or was the injury worse then what they thought initially? also what are you expectations for him when he does come back? i really cant wait for this guy to make his NBA debut.

[mkwest]

If everything sticks to schedule, he'd be in the lineup by the end of January. As of the 23rd of December, he was cleared to run on the Alter-G Anti-Gravity treadmill. He was to be able to run on a standard treadmill a week after (which should have been a few days ago). He was slated to begin basketball-related activities approximately 3 weeks from the 23rd. This would be around the end of the 2nd week of January (15th).

He would then likely participate in non-contact drills and gradually increase from there depending on how his knee responds.

I expect him to give the team's morale a boost. He's also going to make our rotation stronger. Our bench has been really disappointing as of late. Butler has kicked it up a notch, but Telfair and Smith have regressed. Adding Griffin is going to reduce Smith's time even more, and probably hurt Jordan's opportunities to see the court as well.

I'd love to see him come in and play like he did in preseason, but I primarily just want to see him finish the season healthy.

[PlinkingPanda]

I'd love to see him come in and play like he did in preseason, but I primarily just want to see him finish the season healthy.

I would too, but perhaps a little less wild. I love the energy he had, but he was doing crazy spins to the basket and flying all over the place. He will definitely be a huge impact for the team. I think his teammates will feed off his explosiveness. I can't think of any previous Clipper players that had so much energy.. Maybe Singleton , but he didn't have the talent Griffin does.

And from a thread in the general board, his target date is Jan. 20th. 2 weeks away!

[TheNewEra]

Jan. 20th looks like the target date.

[mj_shoefanatic]

good that's a home game and hopefully I'll be in attendance.

[mkwest]

Griffin patiently plays waiting game, as do Clips

"I'm just happy to get him out there," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "It's just good to see him running full speed on a treadmill, full body weight, and out on the court shooting shots."

Just like Griffin fights the urge to do too much too soon, Dunleavy resists the temptation of thinking too far ahead with his young talent.

It's frustrating enough not having him at all, but it's almost more maddening when Dunleavy starts visualizing Griffin in the lineup. "At this point there really isn't a whole lot of expectations," Dunleavy said. "I just have to wait until I see actually see him out on the court."

The Clippers will monitor the impact the latest activity has on Griffin's knee, and if everything checks out he'll get the OK to ramp up the action in a week or so.

Then there is the matter of building his stamina back up to withstand the grind of actual games. They'll figure out how he actually fits into the lineup in the days and weeks following his return.

"I don't have anything set in stone in terms of what I want to do when I get back," Griffin said. "I just want to come in and provide an added piece that we might be missing. And that may change from game to game."

The key is to finally get on the court, in an actual game. For Griffin and the Clippers, that day can't come soon enough.

Vincent Bonsignore, Daily News

Now here's the one everyone wants to read and believe

Clippers target Jan. 20 for Griffin’s debut

The Los Angeles Clippers have targeted Jan. 20 as the night they hope rookie forward Blake Griffin(notes) finally makes his NBA debut, a league source told Yahoo! Sports.

The Clippers play the Chicago Bulls at Staples Center on Jan. 20 before departing for an eight-game road trip. Griffin, the top pick in the 2009 draft, has yet to play because of a stress fracture in his left kneecap. If Griffin is healthy enough to face the Bulls, he’ll play limited minutes.

Griffin began doing on-court workouts with Clippers assistant coach Fred Vinson on Dec. 28, but isn’t expected to be cleared for contact until the middle of this month. Griffin hasn’t put on any additional weight, despite the layoff and has worked on his 3-point shot and ball handling. He’ll likely come off the bench once he does return.

Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports

[mkwest]

The 20th is a date that seemed to be the desired target date a month ago since it's right before we go on the road, and it would give him a game before we play the Nuggets on TNT. It was looking like that would be pushing as the time drew nearer, but to hear that there's a good possibility that he could play on the 20th is great news. Coincidence that it's announced before the Laker game? I'm not sure, but you would think that it would be a huge morale booster in the locker room to motivate this team to play hard and make up some ground before he debuts. I just hope it sticks since the team has been noncommittal in their quotes.

[scratch21]

i can never believe what i hear with this team and its injuries. ill believe it when it happens

[donemilio21]

I dont wanna hear on Jan 19th that he wont be back until all-star game.

[TheNewEra]

I wanted it to be Jan. 20th so bad I wish we could get a percetage on how Blake is recovering right now.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

If it is the 20th then I should be able to see him when the Clippers take on the Wizards in DC

[PerkinsFor3]

Clippers staff denying a return on the 20th? :(

[mkwest]

No return date for Clippers' Griffin

Blake Griffin would love to know when he'll be able to play his first game for the Los Angeles Clippers. To set a date, circle it on his calendar and call up all his friends and invite them to the game, maybe even tweet it.

That's not possible just yet.

"I'll be back when I'll be back. My doctor doesn't even know yet," Griffin said on Wednesday, when asked about a report saying the team was targeting Jan. 20 as a possible debut for the No. 1 overall pick, who has been recovering from a stress fracture in his knee since the preseason.

"I don't even have an appointment scheduled yet. I feel good, it's just a matter of getting cleared."

Here's the latest on what Griffin can and can't do:

He can: run on a treadmill, shoot 3-pointers, do agility drills on the court and lift weights.

He can't: participate in scrimmages or full-court basketball drills.

"I have no idea where that Jan. 20 date came from. I don't think it's an accurate date at all," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "But he's progressing. He's on the court. He's shooting the ball. He's on the treadmill with full body weight. He's shooting, running around, controlled stuff right now.

"We don't need to set dates. The first day he's ready to play, that's when we want him."

Ramona Shelburne, ESPN Los Angeles

[Det the Threat]

Man, this looks like it's going to be a running gag for this season.

Everytime some date's being put out by the media/team, the team just disputes it within a day or so.

I think we should just not get our hopes up to high and not expect to see him in a Clilppers jersey before the ASG...

[donemilio21]

I knew it! I think they know when he can be back and its a date the fans would not like at all. thats why they keep bringing up this rumors, giving fans hope, then extending the date just a little bit more everythime.
I started to feel like he is out for the season and we're not gonna hear that until April.
Please prove me wrong Blake.

[TheNewEra]

Hope we are using Doctors outside of the Clippers staff.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

This sucks, I wanna see Blake

[PlinkingPanda]

I took that game on the 20th cause of that news.

[mkwest]

Clippers forward Blake Griffin might practice soon

Injured Clippers rookie Blake Griffin might finally join his teammates in practice later this week, but only for running and shooting, Coach Mike Dunleavy said Saturday.

But Griffin is nearly ready to join his teammates for a so-called "5 and 0" practice drill, in which "we have our team running up and down full court, full speed, running plays and things of that nature" without a defense on the court, Dunleavy said after the team's practice Saturday.

"I would assume that to be, like, next week at some point," Dunleavy said.

"I think he's capable of about everything except he hasn't taken the step of really exploding up and having to land," Dunleavy said. "That is the last hurdle that he'd have to get through to get to contact" practice with other players.

"It's probably still very conservative, but that's the way we're doing it."

Jim Peltz, LA Times

[Canomad]

i think it might be best for blake to come back after the allstar break. i know thats over a month away but i dont think the clippers wanna screw up his career. blake is a player ive been waiting all year to see. i can wait 1 more month if it means a fully 100% healthy blake griffin.