Jazz update: Clippers PF Blake Griffin out for playoffs with toe injury


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz held media availability in between Games 3 and 4 of their first round playoff matchup with the Clippers. Jazz wingmen Joe Ingles, Joe Johnson, and head coach Quin Snyder addressed the media.

Blake Griffin out for rest of playoffs

Breaking news out of the L.A. Clippers camp was announced Saturday when Blake Griffin was announced out of the rest of the playoffs due to the toe injury he suffered in the first half of the Clippers' Game 3 win.

> Injury Update: Blake Griffin will miss the remainder of the 2017 NBA Playoffs with an injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe. [pic.twitter.com/ZWuFWcQ5pI](https://t.co/ZWuFWcQ5pI) > > — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) [April 22, 2017](https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/855816836184555522)

Here's the play on which the injury appeared to have occurred:

Clippers' Blake Griffin head for locker room with apparent leg injury pic.twitter.com/8aAZbqXGb3 — Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 22, 2017

Obviously, that's a huge blow for the Clippers, one of similar magnitude as Rudy Gobert's Game 1 injury. And at least Gobert has a chance of coming back during this series, while Griffin is out for the rest of the playoffs. It was already difficult to imagine the Clippers beating the Warriors, even if they got out of this series with the Jazz alive. Now, it's unthinkable.

The gameplan will obviously be a little different, but we still have to come prepared to play," Johnson said. "They have multiple guys who can step up in his absence."

Without Griffin out there, the Clippers turned a 9-point halftime deficit into a 5-point win. But the Clippers outscored the Jazz by six during Griffin's first half minutes, so it's hard to claim that the Clippers benefitted from Griffin's absence.

There were definitely more pick and rolls involving Chris Paul in the second half without Griffin, and the Clippers exploited that, and some iffy Jazz defense, to pull ahead late.

"I understood that it would be dangerous, because we would get such a heavy dose of Chris Paul," Johnson said.

One big issue for the Clippers: while I suspect they'll start Marreese Speights at the power forward spot with Griffin out (just as they did in the second half of Game 3), the depth behind those guys is very thin. Neither of Wesley Johnson or Paul Pierce are big concerns to the Jazz, and Speights has his own defensive liabilities to be aware of. The Jazz can feel more confident helping on those pick and rolls than ever before.

No Rudy update

No Rudy Gobert update was given by Jazz PR today, so I suspect we'll hear a status for Game 4 tomorrow morning at shootaround. But I think Snyder's comments on his injury were somewhat interesting, although you have to read between the lines a little bit.

"I don't know," Snyder said if there was a chance Gobert could play Game 4. "That hasn't been the plan. It's not something where they say 'hey, they're going to see how he is three days from now.' No, they're looking at him every day. Right now, that wasn't what we thought originally when it happened, but he's working hard and trying to get back."

That makes it sound like it's doubtful. If it hasn't been the plan to bring him back for Game 3, and it doesn't fit the Jazz's original timeline, it would have to take a pretty speedy recovery, and a surprising one, for Gobert to be available Sunday night.

Update: ESPN's Tim MacMahon appears to have confirmed that reading of Snyder's quote:

Jazz C Rudy Gobert is being evaluated on a daily basis, but a source says it's unlikely that he will be ready to play in Sunday's Game 4. — Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 22, 2017

Favors fatigue ==============

Derrick Favors played 38 minutes and 14 seconds in Game 3, and boy, did it show by the end. Favors could hardly chase down loose balls, stayed stagnant on some rebounds, and, critically couldn't move very well forward and back to defend pick and roll. For those who know how good Favors can be at his best, it was hard to see.

"That's a lot of minutes for him, and we're aware of it," Snyder said. "The main thing is for him to be effective, and if he gets too run down, or too banged up, it's hard for him to do that."

"I thought he held up well physically, but I thought he got tired," Snyder said. "I thought both teams got tired. He's an important part of what we do, whether it's 38 minutes, 28, or 18."

Backup PG minutes?

Snyder was a little bit frustrated with Shelvin Mack's defense in the third quarter of Game 3, so he made a change at the backup point guard position: he brought in Raul Neto.

The Brazilian's solid defense wasn't a surprise, but his shotmaking on offense was. He hit an open look from three, but more remarkably, hit a tough one-legged fallaway over DeAndre Jordan.

"He's been a really consistent player for us defensively. They pressured him, and he drove the ball when he needed to," Snyder said.

And there are indications he may have earned the backup PG job for the time being. "He was playing those minutes before he got hurt," Snyder said. "While he was out, Shelvin came in and did a good job. We've played a lot of guys there, and we just try to feel the game. It felt like we needed some juice, and he gave that to us."

Joe Ingles guarding Chris Paul

The Jazz started Game 3 with a defensive adjustment: they had the bigger, more physical Joe Ingles guarding Chris Paul, with George Hill chasing J.J. Redick off the ball.

I thought the switch worked well. Redick never got going, and Paul had limited success in the first half. Really, Joe Ingles' fourth foul in the third quarter was a big moment in the game: Ingles had to come out, and the Clippers figured out a groove offensively.

"He's guarded point guards before. It wasn't unfamiliar territory for him," Snyder said about Ingles. "And George has played off the ball, and did a good job chasing Redick. Sometimes, it's good for a guy to see different looks. Chris (Paul) has had a terrific series so far."

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