Griffin didn't play in the Pistons' series-opening loss to the Bucks on Sunday. Pistons star forward Blake Griffin is reportedly likely to miss Detroit's entire first-round playoff series against the Bucks due to a left knee injury, according to Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill. Griffin did not play in Detroit's series-opening defeat to Milwaukee on Sunday due to the injury, which the All-Star has dealt with since the final weeks of the regular season. Per Goodwill, there is a "slim chance" Griffin appears this weekend for the Pistons, who will reportedly list him as day to day for the rest of the series. Griffin originally missed three games with a sprained knee prior to returning on April 5. However, his knee flared up again, affecting his availability through the end of the regular season. According to Goodwill, Griffin does not have structural damage in his knee and it remains unclear if he will require any type of minor procedure during the offseaosn. Griffin, 30, averaged a team-high 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season.<doc-sep>Milwaukee — Maybe. Maybe not. It’s still questionable. It’s a daily conundrum for the Pistons’ medical staff in determining Blake Griffin’s status for the past couple of weeks. It didn’t change ahead of Wednesday’s Game 2 of the playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Griffin again was inactive, missing his third straight game because of knee soreness, another blow to the Pistons’ postseason chances, after a 35-point blowout loss in the opener on Sunday. “It’s his body. He has the situation with his knee that there are good days and bad days. It may feel good in the morning and it may feel bad at night,” coach Dwane Casey said before the game. “It’s not something that can keep him from playing. He played with it in Oklahoma City; he tried to go with it in Charlotte and again in Memphis. “His body and the medical staff will let him know.” Although Griffin had done some light shooting and basketball activities in the morning shoot-around, there was some optimism that Griffin might be able to play. Griffin’s status on the injury report hasn’t changed in the past week, but on Wednesday, he wore a heavy knee brace at Fiserv Forum for the portion of shoot-around that was open to the media. He wasn't jumping with any strength or landing on the knee, so there's no clear sense of how much pounding he can sustain without pain. He said pain management isn't a big issue; it's getting clearance to play from the medical and training staffs. Griffin revealed after Game 1 on Sunday that he was sitting not of his own volition; rather, the team medical staff and others were making the decision. He’s missed five of the Pistons’ last eight games and it seems the medical staff is exercising caution in dealing with the long-term prospects for his knee. “People say it’s a ruse or whatever, but it’s real,” Casey said. “His body will let him know if he can go or not. It’s not like we are trying to play without him. Believe me — he wants to go and I want him to go but it’s a medical decision. Hopefully, at some point (maybe Saturday) he can go.” The Pistons struggled in Game 1 without Griffin, falling behind by 20 in the first quarter, on the way to a 35-point blowout loss. Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard<doc-sep>MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 14: Blake Griffin #23 of the Detroit Pistons stares on during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks during Game One of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 14, 2019 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) Blake Griffin is dealing with what seems to be a serious knee injury. Should the Detroit Pistons just rule him out for the series? The Detroit Pistons suffered an embarrassing 35 point loss in game 1 to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. What every Pistons fans was waiting to hear about was the status of Blake Griffin. Griffin has been dealing with a knee injury for a few weeks now, dating back to when he was surprisingly marked as out right before tip-off of a March 30th game against the Portland Trailblazers. Griffin was ruled out for the game, but was not ruled out for the series. He continues to be listed as day-to-day and head coach Dwane Casey continues to respond to questions about their superstar forward with, “we’ll see”. Griffin played what might’ve been the best season of his career this year, and played in the most games (75) he has in the regular season since the 2013-14 season. This must make it even more tough for Griffin to sit and watch his team right now on the biggest stage after such a successful season. It’s been said that Griffin is pushing to play, and Griffin said himself after game one if it was up to him he’d be suited up and ready to play. Casey, however, has said that it’s in the hands of the training staff and described it as a “complex” situation. Which begs the questions, should the Detroit Pistons just rule Blake out for the series? The Pistons, whether Griffin played or not, were very likely to lose this series. The Bucks are being led by The Greek Freak and have been the best team in basketball since the beginning of the season, finishing with a league best 60-22 record. With Griffin, the idea was to keep the series competitive and win a few games to show progress in the franchise. Without Griffin, it’ll be nearly impossible to get a game off the Bucks. Is playing Griffin two games with a seriously injured knee just to win a singular game worth risking his future health? The Pistons have said his injury can’t get any worse and it is just a pain tolerance at this point. I’m not really sure how I feel about that kind of description. What I do know is this. If Blake is sacrificing future health just so the Pistons can try to get a singular game in the first round, he should be ruled out for the series. If Blake is going to look like he did against Memphis if he plays, where he could barely move and bend his left leg due to his injury, just rule him out for the series. If this warm-up posted by Detroit News beat writer Rod Beard of Griffin shooting around, where he barely is moving around is an indicator of what he’ll be capable to do, rule him out for the series. Listen, I played ball my whole life. If I was a star and had led my high school varsity team to districts, but then was being held out by my team because they thought I couldn’t play through injury, I’d be pissed. So, I completely feel for Blake. This must absolutely suck for him, and it must be making him even more mad that the team wont let him go out like he wants to. But, the Detroit Pistons have to think about their future. We saw what Blake looked like after an off-season to work on his game. If he isn’t going to be able to move around at at least 80 percent of normal form, sit him for the series so he can get started on rehabbing before the post-season ends. There was a rumor going around that Griffin was going to need surgery as soon as his season ended. If that’s true, rule him out now, let him get his surgery, so he can get started on his recovery and have some off-season left to work on his game for next year. Blake, we all appreciate what you did this season. We know it must suck for you to sit out and watch your team fight helplessly without you. But, take this one out. Your teammates can bite the bullet here. Sit and get healthy. Get ready for another run next year.<doc-sep>
Blake Griffin didn’t say much Saturday about the left knee injury that forced him to miss four of the final seven games of the regular season. “We’re taking this day by day,” he said when asked about his availability for the Detroit Pistons' playoff opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. “I’m not looking forward to a day that’s not right here in front of me. “I’ll sit with our training staff and whoever else needs to be in on that decision and make that call.” If the game were Saturday night, could Griffin go? “It’s not Saturday night,” Griffin said. An official status report lists Griffin as questionable, but it’s apparent the Pistons are preparing to be without Griffin — at least for the beginning of the best-of-seven first-round series against the league’s best team. “When you lose him and don’t have him going into Game 1, it’s a huge blow, but we are going to step up, defensively, offensively in all the areas with him not being there,” point guard Ish Smith said. The Pistons were 2-5 in games Griffin didn’t play, so even winning one game against the league’s best team will be tough. Griffin played in 75 games during the regular season, the most he’s played since the 2013-14 season. He tweaked his left knee toward the end of the season, and he took himself out of the lineup after warmups before the Pistons’ 99-90 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on March 30. He missed the next two games before returning to score 45 points at Oklahoma City in a road loss April 5. But he struggled mightily the next two games, culminating in only five points in 18 minutes in Tuesday night’s 100-93 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in the regular-season home finale. More:Detroit Pistons vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Scouting report, series prediction More:Thon Maker fond of Bucks. He needed opportunity with Detroit Pistons He missed the season finale at the New York Knicks, the night the Pistons clinched a playoff spot. Griffin, 30, was an All-Star and averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season. Before speaking with reporters Saturday, Griffin walked on a treadmill at the practice facility in Auburn Hills. After finishing, he spoke briefly with Pistons public relations personnel before addressing the media. He’s been receiving treatment almost nonstop the past couple days, and it’s obvious he’s determined to return to the floor, but he also expressed satisfaction with reaching the postseason, establishing a foundation in coach Dwane Casey’s first season. “You never want to let your teammates down and not be out there, but at the same time we’ve built a foundation this season and we’ve started to play the right brand of basketball,” Griffin said. “Those types of things carry over. “Our goal was the reach the playoffs and we accomplished that goal so at the end of the day, we’re right where we want to be.” Follow Vince Ellis on Twitter @vincent_ellis56. Read more on the Detroit Pistons and sign up for our Pistons newsletter.