SH Blog: Blake Griffin’s knee is just fine, Kris Humphries being sued by woman for giving her Herpes

Remember when Blake Griffin suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee over the summer? We really haven’t heard too much about it since, but he is apparently just fine now and and would be ready to play if training camp opened today. He didn’t get to work with Hakeem Olajuwon as originally planned, but appears to have been working on his jump shot and free throws – some of his biggest struggles from last season. See the current mindset of Griffin, along with other news of interest from Wednesday below:

• Blake Griffin said he is healthy and ready to go after undergoing knee surgery that forced him out of the Olympics. He has also been working on his shooting game to become more of a “complete player”, from Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles: “If camp started tomorrow, I’d be ready to go,” Griffin said Tuesday. “I could go now if I needed to.” Griffin underwent arthroscopic surgery last month to repair the medial meniscus tear of his left knee he suffered during Team USA’s training camp in Las Vegas on July 11, which forced him to miss the Olympics. “The surgery wasn’t one of those things that took a long time (to recover from),” Griffin said. “It was just a matter of getting my strength back and we really took our time with it. I could have been back even earlier than that. “I just needed to get the swelling out of the knee. That was the biggest battle. There’s nothing that needs time to repair or heal. It was just reducing the swelling and getting the strength back in my leg and once I got that, I was out on the court every day.”… During the offseason Griffin said he has been working on his mid-range game and his free throws, two areas of concern last season. “I’m trying to become a more complete player,” Griffin said. “I’ve been working on my shot, working on my free throws, those are two things I’ve been able to work on a lot because they’re stationary.”

• Griffin also appeared on “Talkin 2K” to discuss how he wants to dominate the All Star Weekend.

• With the strong possibility of Dwight Howard missing the season opener, the Lakers will have to make adjustments. Increasing Pau Gasol’s minutes will have to be one of those adjustments, according to Mark Medina of Los Angeles Times: “1. Increase Pau Gasol’s minutes: The Lakers forward has become accustomed to this by now. For the last two seasons, Gasol slid over at center and ate up Andrew Bynum’s minutes because Bynum was either injured (missed 24 games in 2010 rehabbing his surgically repaired right knee) or suspended (missed five games last season for his forearm shove on J.J. Barea in the 2011 playoffs). Given Gasol’s versatile skill-set, he’s easily capable of doing it again. With Gasol’s thirst for operating more in the low post, the situation could mark his opportunity to have a bigger role this season.Still, there should be concern about a bigger workload for Gasol. He’s coming off a summer in which he trained and played extensively for the 2012 London Olympics. Though that should ensure his conditioning to open the season, it also increases the likelihood that he could fall to fatigue pretty quickly, as happened two years ago.”

• Howard’s back issue prevented him from hosting his basketball camp two weeks ago, but is now traveling to China, according to Josh Robbins of Orlando Sentinel: “Two weeks after he originally was supposed to host a kids basketball camp in Orlando — a camp he withdrew from, citing the need to remain in Southern California to rehabilitate his surgically repaired back — Howard has traveled to China. Dan Fegan, Howard’s agent, deferred to adidas officials when asked why Howard flew overseas but did not appear two weeks earlier at his Orlando day camp. In a statement issued to the Orlando Sentinel, adidas officials said Howard was cleared to travel “just last week.” In the statement, adidas officials said: “Since Dwight’s injury our focus has been on his recovery. His health has continued to improve and just last week he was cleared to travel. We are excited that Dwight is now able to participate in fan and community events as he continues to prepare for the NBA season. Dwight is an amazing athlete and outstanding partner with fans around the world.”

• Howard played Pop a Shot with a kid and basically got destroyed, so he stopped trying and started blocking the kid’s shot instead. All in good fun.

• Charles Oakley talked about the importance of sacrificing for the team, from Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York: “Before Pat Riley, it was all different types of identities. We had the pieces, but it was a different identity,” Oakley told ESPNNewYork.com. “Pat Riley had a good philosophy and a way of structuring stuff. But the individual’s got to want to do it. He said, ‘I want you to play less minutes, I want you to do this, I want you to do that.’ My thing is, I want to win. I said, ‘Okay, cool.’ If your numbers are going down and you’re winning, it’s an asset for the team.” Oakley said that Anthony and Stoudemire need to think beyond their individual talents and recognize how they can help the team come together. That starts with playing tough on defense, which Oakley was all about in New York for 10 years from 1988 to 1998. “I can do my job all I want, but anybody else got to want to do their job just as hard as I do,” he said. “We know Carmelo and Amare can score, Tyson is a defensive guy. But it’s like a mansion. They got the house; now you just got to buy the furniture. I think with the Knicks, this is their second year together, and the furniture’s in now.”

• Despite staying relatively quiet over the summer, the Pacers believe in the core they have and recently got together as a team for workouts, from Mike Wells of Indianapolis Star: “The Pacers – obviously – didn’t go and spend big bucks on free agents around the league. They believe they can close the gap with the Heat by keeping their core players (re-signing restricted free agents Roy Hibbert and George Hill) together. They’re going with that mind frame until proven it can’t work. That’s why they got together for workouts last week in Los Angeles. About eight players, the entire coaching staff and the training staff were out there. More players would have shown up if not for prior commitments. Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, Paul George, Gerald Green and D.J. Augustin were some of the players who worked out in California. The Pacers checked with the NBA to make sure they weren’t breaking any rules. They were only allowed to have six players on the court at a time. “That’s a sign of a team that wants to improve,” president Donnie Walsh said.”

• The Warriors’ new general manager Bob Myers has done an excellent job in putting the team in position to succeed, from Jordan Ramirez of Warriorsworld: “In his first off-season as sole GM of the team, Myers drafted Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli and Draymond Green. He managed to swing Dorell Wright to Philadelphia in a three team trade that ended with Jarrett Jack coming to the Bay. He re-signed Brandon Rush and ended the off-season with signing Carl Landry. In other words, he filled every available need with the given finances and provided the Warriors with their deepest team in years. For once, the Warriors off-season isn’t filled with the off court drama, front office combustion or offer sheet question marks. Myers showed a keen sense of competency and patience, traits formerly unbeknown to the Warriors front office. Of course, this season’s success still hinges on the limbs of Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut. So, while the team isn’t built for a championship yet (the Heat will repeat), the fundamental basis for a successful NBA team is in place.”

• There is a forgotten player on the Thunder team that warrants attention at this point, according to Royce Young of Daily Thunder: “Serge Ibaka this, James Harden that. All summer the focus has remained on those two players and what their future in Oklahoma City might look like. But there’s actually a third player on the roster that’s eligible for an extension too. And one that doesn’t want to go anywhere either. Thunder fans haven’t forgotten about Eric Maynor even if it seems a lot of other people have though. There were draft stories about OKC taking a point guard to replace Derek Fisher. Stories about OKC pursuing point guards in free agency to do the same. Ridiculous trade rumors. And all this time maybe the league’s best backup point guard is already on the roster.”

• Shane Battier explained how coach Krzyzewski wanted him to go to the Heat, from Andrew Beaton of The Chronicle: “While Arison sold Miami to Battier in free agency, he was also encouraged to go to South Beach by another Blue Devil. Battier said he received a call of congratulations from Duke basketball head coach Krzyzewski, who has seen just him and Danny Ferry leave Durham to become NBA champions during his tenure. “[Krzyzewski] was the one who wanted me to go to Miami more than anyone else,” Battier said. “In the end, like always, he was right.” Between Duke and Miami, Arison has played apprentice to two of basketball’s most revered minds in Krzyzewski and Heat president Pat Riley. Arison, Trinity ’03, cited the pair for much of what he has learned about basketball and has experienced success in both places, including four consecutive ACC tournament victories while in Durham. “There are very few better people to learn from, if anyone, than Coach K,” Arison said.”

• The Timberwolves are nearly half a million under the salary cap, so they may look to add another player, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Sports Wire: “Mehmet Okur, perhaps the best available center, is seeking more than the minimum. A source close to him said the Wolves are a “long shot” to secure his services. Josh Harrellson, recently waived by Houston, is not an option. The Wolves told his camp that they’re looking for someone with more length. Chris Andersen, formerly of Denver, fits the length criteria. But the Wolves are not in his mix. The Wolves are still maintaining dialogue with free agent Anthony Tolliver. Like Okur, the strong belief is he won’t settle for the minimum. The Wolves have told him to be patient as they possibly attempt to make a trade to create more space under the salary cap.”

• Trey Kerby of TBJ explains why it’s great to see Reggie Miller be presented by his sister at the Hall of Fame: “Outside of Pat Summitt standing up for Dick Vitale which doesn’t really count because he got inducted mostly for being a college basketball announcer, this might be the only time a woman has presented a man at the Hall of Fame. (It’s very hard to find a full list of presenters, but this seems to be pretty complete.) That in and of itself is awesome, but it’s even cooler that it’s a little brother picking his big sister to be there for the biggest honor of his life. Besides the angled flattop with the lines shaved in, not a lot of what Reggie Miller does is cool, but this definitely is. Here’s hoping Cheryl wears her silkiest patterned shirt, just to make things extra wonderful.”

• Martell Webster will officially suit up for the Wizards for one season, according to Michael Lee of Washington Post:

• Donte Greene fractured his ankle last weekend, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports:

• As a result, Greene will not be able to sign with the Nets to begin the season as planned, from Howard Beck of New York Times:

• Just when you thought the hate for Kris Humphries would die down now that he is unrelated to a Kardashian, he is being sued by a woman for knowingly giving her a sexually trasmitted disease, according to TMZ: “Kris Humphries has just been sued by a woman who claims he gave her herpes … TMZ has learned. Kayla Goldberg claims she met Kris in August, 2010 at the Newsroom Cafe on Robertson Blvd in L.A. — long before Kris met Kim Kardashian. The two flirted, exchanged numbers, and Kayla claims that night they met up at Trousdale nightclub on the Sunset Strip. According to the suit, Kris came on to Kayla, touching, kissing and dancing with her. Kayla claims he took her to his hotel and they had sex multiple times … including oral sex. The suit claims during a portion of the sexual encounter Kris did not wear a condom. The lawsuit claims Kris did not inform Kayla he had herpes — and she claims in the suit that he did indeed have the disease.”

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