2012 NBA Playoff Predictions: Blake Griffin Will Cause First Round Exit for LAC

Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers are in rare territory—the NBA Playoffs.

For the first time since the 2005-06 season, and only the fifth time since the 1976-77 season when they were the Buffalo Braves, the Clippers franchise will be playing basketball after the regular season ends.

It may be something worth celebrating in Clipper Land, but even though they have great leadership and a star in the making in Griffin, this postseason stay could be a quick one for the Clippers as they begin Sunday against the No. 4 seeded Memphis Grizzlies.

While the Clippers may not have the overall depth to make a lengthy playoff run this season, the biggest thing holding them back will be the immaturity of Griffin.

There’s no doubting the overall talent of a player like Griffin, but in the playoffs Griffin’s weaknesses can be exposed.

That starts with the fouls.

It's true that Griffin has taken more than his share of hard fouls lately, especially in transition, but instead of taking time to whine and complain about it Griffin should do something about it.

The fouls will stop coming in bunches if Griffin can knock down his free-throws, but given his poor percentage from the line (.521), that doesn’t seem likely.

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne that Griffin Should retaliate for the hard fouls and strike back.

"I'd smack the f--- out of somebody," Bryant told Shelburne on Wednesday. "I've known him for a while and he's a really nice guy so I don't know if he'd want to do that. But I would. I would've done it early in the year.”

Yet Griffin can’t even think about doing something like that because the Clippers need him on the floor.

Unfortunately for Griffin, even though he has a gripe, he needs to stop the complaining and the facial expressions when he’s on the floor and step up and take the punishment like a man.

Griffin needs to look in the mirror because it’s his own doing.

He needs to develop other ways to score instead of dunking four out of every five times. Improving his free-throw percentage is a must as well.

It seems perfectly fine for Griffin to use that big frame and explosive leaping ability to posterize an opposing defender on a nightly basis. But then he gets upset about the hits that come along with that.

As long as opposing defenders stay away from his head, Griffin has to expect to get hammered almost every trip down the floor. Teams aren’t going to allow him to dunk at will, especially in the playoffs.

Step one for Griffin is to mature on the court. Take your lumps and move on with the next play. Quit whining and complaining or the hard fouls are just going to continue. By showing that it bothers him, defenders now know they are in his head and won't stop fouling him.

Step two is to mature his game on the court. Learn to play defense without flopping and develop a better mid-range jumper. Most importantly, start knocking down free throws.

Until Griffin matures in both aspects, the Clippers aren’t realistic championship contenders.

There’s really only one way to stop all of the hard fouls and side-show antics.

It’s all in Griffin’s hands. All he has to do is to continue to evolve and mature as a player.

Until then, a first-round playoff exit is likely.