The injury bug bites the LA Clippers once again as results from Chris Paul’s MRI reveal a torn ligament in his left thumb.

The LA Clippers can’t catch a break. Every time the franchise has a legitimate chance of challenging the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs, Chris Paul or Blake Griffin gets sidelined with an injury.

On Tuesday, Paul was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his left thumb that will require surgery scheduled for tomorrow. He will need six to eight weeks to recover. Griffin should return to the lineup in the next couple of weeks after undergoing knee surgery in mid-December.

Paul jammed his hand on Russell Westbrook’s right leg in the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. Despite the injury, the Clippers have become accustomed to playing without their best players.

via NBA

“Blake’s going to be back soon,” J.J. Redick said. “Next guy up, I guess. We’ve kind of dealt with this quite a bit lately, and we’ll continue to plug away.”

Paul has already missed seven games earlier this season due to a hamstring strain.

The nine-time All-Star is averaging 17.5 points, 9.7 assists,  5.3 rebounds and a league high 2.25 steals per game. Don’t expect backup point guard Raymond Felton to produce numbers such as these, but you can expect the Clippers to struggle during this stretch without Paul and Griffin.

This could be the end of the Lob City era in Los Angeles because both All-Stars have the opportunity to opt out of their current contracts at the end of the season and become unrestricted free agents.

I think the Clippers should give Phil Jackson a call to discuss what it would take to acquire Carmelo Anthony because the bad luck continues to plague this franchise.