Blake Griffin misses another playoff game due to sore knee
Detroit Pistons’ Blake Griffin, right, watches from the bench during the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Sunday, April 14, 2019, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
MILWAUKEE — Detroit Pistons’ big man Blake Griffin was out of the lineup for the second game of the team’s first round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Griffin sat out Game 1 of the series with left knee soreness. The Pistons lost the opener by 35 points. They also lost Game 2 to trail 0-2.
He took part in light drills at Wednesday morning’s shoot around while wearing a heavy brace on his leg. He had been listed as questionable and had been openly lobbying coach Dwane Casey to let him return to the court.
Casey said before tipoff Wednesday that Griffin has good days and bad, and the knee might different at different times of the day.
“He’s got the situation with his knee where there’s good days and bad days,” Casey said before Wednesday’s game. “It may feel good in the morning and feel bad at night. He wants to go and I want him to go, but it’s a medical decision. Hopefully, at some point, he can go.”
After missing three games with a sprained knee, Griffin returned on April 5 against Oklahoma City and scored 45 points. However, he experienced recurring swelling in the knee and struggled two nights later against Charlotte. He played limited minutes against Memphis on April 9 and sat out the regular-season finale against New York the next night.
Although not in uniform for Game 1 against the Bucks, Griffin received a technical foul while on the bench in the third quarter for protesting teammate Andre Drummond’s ejection. Drummond was issued a Flagrant 2 foul when he shoved Bucks’ MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo to the ground with both hands after Antetokounmpo grabbed an offensive rebound. The Bucks led by 41 at the time.
Griffin averaged 24.5 points during the regular season to lead the Pistons.
