Clippers’ Blake Griffin has right elbow drained

Blake Griffin said he had the bursa sac in his right elbow drained after Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bulls at Staples Center.

Griffin’s swollen elbow was really noticeable when the Clippers played at Oklahoma City last Thursday night.

It’s an injury Griffin said he has dealt with every year he has been in the NBA.

“It’s still a little big,” Griffin said after practice Tuesday. “But they put some anti-inflammatory fluid in there. It should go down in the next couple of days.”

Griffin said he was told that it wouldn’t be a good thing to have surgery on the bursa sac right now.

“If you do, there’s an increased chance of arthritis,” Griffin said.
The bursa sac acts as the cushion for bones and muscles. When it becomes filled with fluid, it can become inflamed.

The injury hasn’t stopped Griffin from having a good year for the Clippers so far.

He leads the team in scoring (22.0 points per game) and minutes played (36.9) and is second in rebounding (10.8) and assists (3.1).
“I’ve had [the swelling] since my junior year of high school,” said Griffin, who is right-handed. “I stopped wearing my sleeve. I wore my sleeve because it used to be huge and it always covered it up. But it’s going to get big no matter what, so I just don’t worry about it.”

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Twitter: @BA_Turner

broderick.turner@latimes.com