LOS ANGELES—With only a precious few weeks left until the NBA playoffs begin, Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin has been cleared to play. Hanging over his head though remains his four-game suspension stemming from an uncharacteristic altercation earlier this year in Toronto. As a result of the brawl between Griffin and a member of the Clippers training staff, the superstar suffered a broken hand.

After the upheavel and bad publicity the Clippers Organization endured for the past few years, the return of Griffin is essential in order for them to breakthrough to the second round, and ultimately reach their goal of an NBA title. The tentative date of his return is Sunday, April 3.

“Griffin had no endurance as far as his wind, but as far as his basketball game he looked terrific,” stated Head Coach Doc Rivers.

These 7 games will give Blake a chance to return to form-the rest of the team will need to adjust their pace and spacing and once again make Griffin the focal point of the offense. A return to “lob city,” if you will.

In 30 games this season, he averaged 23.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5 assists. The Los Angeles Clippers have no shot of making any noise during playoffs unless Griffin returns to his dominant self.

Opponets fear his out of this world dunking ability, put on display during the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest in L.A. where he actually leapt over a car to make a once in a lifetime dunk.

Currently the Clippers hold the fourth seed in the West, and will inevitably face the Memphis Grizzlies. These teams are first round foes; they have faced off many times in the recent future, providing memmorable series and this year seems like the two evenly matched teams will meet again.