After missing Game 1 of the Pistons‘ series vs. the Bucks, Blake Griffin appears no closer to returning to the court. According to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, Griffin will likely end up missing Detroit’s entire first round series.
Griffin, who was the Pistons’ best player during the regular season, initially missed three games with a sprained knee before returning on April 5 vs. Oklahoma City. After that game, the knee swelled up again, limiting his availability and effectiveness vs. Charlotte and Memphis during the final week of the season. Griffin was sidelined for the team’s must-win regular season finale vs. New York and also sat out Game 1 on Sunday.
According to Goodwill, Griffin is expected to be listed as day-to-day for the remainder of the series, with a source suggesting there’s a “slim chance” he plays on the weekend. Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press notes (via Twitter) that he’s gotten the same vibe from people he has spoken to, adding that the club is “holding out hope” that the star forward will be able to return. Game 2 will take place in Milwaukee on Wednesday, with Game 3 in Detroit scheduled for Saturday.
Although there’s no structural damage, Goodwill writes that Griffin and the Pistons will determine after the season ends whether he requires a procedure on his troublesome knee.
If Griffin is unable to play vs. the Bucks, the Pistons’ season will likely come to an end sooner rather than later. Milwaukee blew out Detroit by 35 points on Sunday, as the Pistons were unable to keep up with MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks’ high-powered attack.
Well, no chance to win just became less than no chance!
Game, set, match. Will the Pistons even top 100 pts?
From the looks of things yesterday, if he’s missing the entire first round then he’s missing the entire playoffs.
If Blake can’t go and the Pistons lose by 30+ again, can we just call this series? No one wants to watch 3 more games of that
Mannn I would much rather have seen the Heat win the 8th seed. Seeing D Wade in one last postseason would have been much better than seeing Detroit lose every game by 40 without Blake. Bucks-Pistons is literally the only matchup in the playoffs that I’m not interested in watching.
Thats too bad. Not that they would have had a chance, but Griffin has had quite a good year.