Los Angeles Clippers President of Basketball Operations and coach Doc Rivers said recently that forward Blake Griffin will be back playing soon, but it seems it isn't his hand injury that's keeping him from coming back. It's an injury he suffered before that. From Dan Woike of the Orange County Register:
Griffin's injured quad, which kept him out since Dec. 26, is the main reason he's yet to be cleared to return, not his surgically repaired right hand.
The hand injury isn't serious enough to keep Griffin from practicing. But his injured quad hasn't responded to an increase in workout intensity.
Griffin's timetable to return has been pushed slightly back to late March.
While Griffin hasn't suffered a specific setback, he hasn't progressed in a way that matched Doc Rivers' optimism earlier this month.
Whenever Griffin is able to return he will still have to sit out four games because of the suspension stemming from the fight he got in with a Clippers employee. That may not give him much time to get back to playing speed before the playoffs so that should be an interesting development to watch.