By Simon Liang

Daily Titan Asst. Sports Editor

The opening night of the National Basketball Association season showcased the battle for Los Angeles; but one face was noticeably absent on the court.

No, I am not talking about Pau Gasol, I was thinking more along the lines of the Los Angeles Clippers’ man-child by the name of Blake Griffin.

Why was he on the sideline in street clothes? The reason: broken kneecap. The prognosis: about six weeks. The cause: being drafted as a Clipper.

The official damage is a stress fracture of the left patella. I have suffered a stress fracture before, and it is not fun. One is basically incapacitated for at least a month. Mine was not as severe as his, but regardless, any type of injury sucks.

Griffin has sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee before and torn cartilage in his right knee, both occurred when he was at the University of Oklahoma, so injuries are nothing new to him.

I feel sorry for the guy, he is his own worst enemy. He tirelessly tries to make himself better, but he doesn’t know when to stop. First, he strained his shoulder during summer league play and injured his sore knee before training camp. He should have taken a break, but he had a chip on his shoulder, and he wanted to prove something.

The comparison to former Clippers’ No. 1 overall draft picks Danny Manning in 1988 and Michael Olowokandi in 1998 is bound to arise.

Blake Griffin was an All-American at the University of Oklahoma. Photo Courtesy MCT.

Manning only played 26 games in his rookie season and was considered a mediocre player throughout his career. But honestly, Manning’s game never translated to the pros.

Olowokandi was projected as a dominant center, but he never panned out for the Clips. He is considered one of the biggest busts of all-time. Griffin won’t have that kind of pressure because his draft class is not as strong as past drafts.

There is talk of this Clippers’ curse, and it has validity. Or maybe it’s just bad luck. Remember Shaun Livingston? He was their highly regarded point guard who jumped straight from high school. Numerous knee injuries later, he is barely hanging on in the NBA.

My hope for Griffin is that he won’t be just another regular basketball player. He is too good to just fade away into the distance. I know he will succeed, just not in a Clippers’ uniform. The day LA’s “other team” won the draft lottery, I bet Griffin dug himself a grave.

The smartest move for his career would be to not re-sign with the Clips by following standout guard Eric Gordon and to buy the first ticket out of LA when his rookie contract expires.

However, if they both stay, they can combine with forward Al Thornton to form one of the leagues’ best young trios. The Oklahoma City Thunder has Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook. The Portland Trailblazers has Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden. They can reach the same status if they keep working hard.

The forecast for the Clippers actually looked pretty good this season with a team full of talented young players. But that is their problem: They are a young team full of immaturity, and they lack discipline on defense.

They will improve as the season progresses, and I can project them finishing at the ninth spot and yet another year in the lottery. Barring injury, they should have a fighting chance.

Point guard Baron Davis has only played in all 82 games four times in his entire career, so the Clippers need him to stay healthy. Their acquisition of Rasual Butler helped solve their outside shooting deficiencies.

With the Clippers’ plethora of big men, the loss of Griffin shouldn’t hurt too much. Chris Kaman looks like he’s in the best shape of his life. Marcus Camby is still a defense force, and Craig Smith is a scrappy forward who gets it done.

However, Griffin is their home-run hitter; he will bring people to the Staples Center. He is the sole reason why the NBA scheduled the Clippers against the Lakers on opening night.

The season will move on without Griffin, and the anticipation will linger.

We will have to see what this guy is all about, that is if this whole “Clipper curse” is just a myth. Otherwise, it’ll just be another year that they wished their older brother, the Lakers,’ weren’t so successful. They might just end up watching another championship ring ceremony next season.

I can already see it now: Griffin comes out with his autobiography stating that he wished he fled the country or pulled a “Steve Francis” when he was drafted. Is there anything worse than putting on a uniform that has ‘cursed’ written all over it?