Get used to seeing Blake Griffin on the bench for the next six weeks. Those of us on the East Coast woke up this morning to the news of Griffin's stress fracture in his left kneecap, while those out West -- notably in Los Angeles -- probably didn't get much sleep at all. It's frustrating, no matter where your NBA allegiance lies, when a talent like Griffin goes down before we even get to see him lace up for the Clippers in a meaningful game. It wasn't that long ago that we lost the 2007 No.1 draft pick, Greg Oden, before the start of the '07-'08 season. Let's hope it doesn't take Griffin as long as it took Oden to return to action.
From a fantasy perspective it's hard to speculate who could "replace" Blake Griffin on your lineup since we actually don't even know who he is as a fantasy baller. But, I'll do my best to identify a few guys who are widely available in FleaFlicker and Yahoo! leagues.
Andray Blatche (FleaFlicker: 23%. Yahoo!: 20%) - With Antawn Jamison slated to miss the next 3-5 weeks, look for Blatche to get the bulk of the minutes at the power forward position in Washington. Blatche has some nice upside in this, his fifth season. He posted a respectable line this preseason -- 11.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 48.7-percent from the field. If Blatche can keep his foul-rate down, thus keeping Fabricio Oberto off the court, he could turn into a solid value pick and a contributor on both sides of the ball.
Yi Jianlian (FF: 3%, Y!: 47%) - He posted 17 points, 10 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 0.7 steals over the final three preseason games. There are no guarantees with Yi, given how inconsistent he's been in the past. But until coach Lawrence Frank abandons Yi and opts for the "frenzy" offense, it's worth a shot to see if he can continue his current pace into the regular season.
DeAndre Jordan (FF: 7%, Y!: 2%) -- I wrote about Jordan a few weeks ago as a Clipper to keep on your radar. My premise was that if either Blake Griffin, Marcus Camby or Chris Kaman were to go down with a serious injury, Jordan would become a fantasy relevant player. Well look what we have here. Not only is Griffin out, but Camby is nursing an ankle injury and questionable for the start of the season. Kevin Arnovitz of ClipperBlog is expecting a bulk of the minutes to go to Jordan, the second-year big. I like his value, though expect him to have an up-and-down type of season. But if you look at his per-36 minutes last season you might get pretty excited about DJ -- 10.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and a 63.3 FG%. I'd suggest you don't necessarily jump on Jordan right away, since he's still very raw, but keep your eye on him this week.
Ryan Gomes (FF: !!%, Y!: 37%) - Gomes has already seen his role increase since Kevin Love went down with a fractured hand. He averaged 16 points, 6.7 rebounds, 0.7 threes, 2 steals and 91.6-percent from the line since Love got hurt. Gomes is a prime pickup right now, and could help in your pursuit of finding a replacement for Griffin. Antonio McDyess (FF: 47%, Y!: 45%) - I'm as big of a DeJaun Blair fan as the next guy, but it's time to be realistic. Now that the preseason has passed, you can expect McDyess to see more than 20 minutes per game. McDyess finished the '08-'09 season strong, posting 12.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks while shooting 51.2-percent from the filed in the final 30 games. I think 'Dyess will get the early minutes in San Antonio and could play a vital role in keeping Tim Duncan fresh, all while keeping it real.
Final Notes:
- Kevin Arnovitz also suggested that the Clippers may play small and go with both Al Thornton and Rasual Butler in the frontcourt. Thornton can provide you with another scorer, while Butler has the ability to hit a decent amount of threes.
- The other player to look at in Los Angeles is Craig Smith. He played well enough in the preseason to warrant a look now that Griffin is out. I'm still not sure he's worth a flier, but he's worth following.
- Finally, I wouldn't necessarily drop Griffin unless you need the roster spot. Six weeks will fly by and he's not the kind of guy who will go quietly into the night. He could reasonably come back and have a big second half.
