Do injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin foretell a breakup of Clippers core?

The season isn’t over. An era might be.

Injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin could compel the Clippers to start contemplating the dreaded possibility of breaking up their core much sooner than they ever imagined.

Griffin was lost for the season and Paul is out at least a month after both players were injured Monday during the Clippers’ loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.

Paul’s timetable could be moot if the Clippers’ season ends this weekend. It’s a cruel possibility after the Clippers were deprived of their top two players at the worst possible time.

Barring an unlikely rally carrying them deep into the playoffs, the Clippers will be confronted by a simple question: Do they have enough to overtake the Golden State Warriors, who appear poised for years of dominance?

The Clippers feature three of the NBA’s top players in Paul, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, but even Coach Doc Rivers conceded before the season that they were on the verge of getting “stale” without a breakthrough. The team didn’t make it out of the second round of the playoffs in either of Rivers’ first two seasons and won’t be expected to now with a depleted roster.

Losing Paul and Griffin in the playoffs and Griffin for 45 additional games during the regular season could complicate Rivers’ assessment of where his team stands in the gory Western Conference. Rivers’ opinion carries extra weight because he is also the Clippers’ president of basketball operations

“I think we like who we are,” Rivers said before Game 5 on Wednesday night at Staples Center. “I think I have evaluated that already. We did not have Blake all year, for the most part. I actually thought Blake was about a second away from regaining timing.

“I actually said it at halftime [Monday]. I said, ‘Man, you can see him, he’s close, he’s close. He’s about to get going.’ And then, bam. So we will see.”

Trades involving Paul, Griffin or Jordan would be difficult considering their remaining upside and what they have meant to the franchise.

Griffin, 27, is the youngest member of the star threesome and represents the start of the franchise’s transformation from laughingstock to contender after being the first overall selection in the 2009 draft.

Jordan, 27, is the longest-tenured Clipper and displayed loyalty last summer by re-signing with the only NBA franchise he has known, after his five-day Dallas dalliance.

Paul, 30, elevated the Clippers into the league’s upper echelon upon his arrival in December 2011 as part of the franchise’s most significant trade.

There’s also the essential matter of what each player would be able to fetch in return. All remain in their prime, though Paul’s basketball longevity is presumably a bit shorter than those of the other two because of his age.

Paul and Griffin each have one more season on their contracts, plus a player option for the 2017-18 season. Jordan has two more seasons on his contract, plus a player option for the 2018-19 season.

The Clippers got a look at what they might be like without Paul and Griffin in recent seasons because of injuries. They went 12-6 two years ago while Paul was sidelined with a shoulder injury. They went 9-6 last season while Griffin sat out with a staph infection in his elbow and 30-15 this season while he was missing because of injuries and a four-game suspension.

Depending on what Rivers decides this summer, an absence could soon be permanent.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch