Blake Griffin Injury: Why Clippers Star Should Consider Sitting out Game 1

Blake Griffin played limited minutes on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies and sat for much of the fourth quarter, his sprained left knee not cooperating. The Los Angeles Clippers survived without him however, winning the game, 82-72, and the series in seven games.

His insistence that he will play in Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday may not be surprising, but it also may not be the smart play. From Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times:

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"No, I'm not going to sit out," Griffin said. "It's a matter of rest."

Because Sunday's Game 7 was at noon Central time and Game 1 against San Antonio is at 8:30 p.m. in the same time zone, Griffin said he'll get about 1 1/2 days to rest and treat the injury.

"Really, these last two games, we haven't had as much rest as we're about to have now," Griffin said. "So hopefully this rest kind of helps somehow by Tuesday. I mean, I'll be ready to play."

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I wouldn't expect Griffin to say anything else. But if his knee isn't healthy and if he can't contribute positively to the team, why play in Game 1? Why risk potentially injuring the knee further and taking yourself out for future games in the series?

Therefore, Griffin should at least consider sitting out the first game of the series against the Spurs.

The Clippers proved they could will themselves to victory without him against the Grizzlies. It's no secret that Chris Paul, and not Griffin, is ultimately the key to the team's success.

And even if the Clippers were to lose to the Spurs in Game 1, wouldn't a healthy Griffin the rest of the way beat a gimpy version?

Listen, if his knee is truly recovered or close to it, then he obviously needs to play. But attempting to play on a knee that won't support him is far too risky.

Griffin wants to be there for his teammates—I get that. But if his knee won't cooperate, the smartest thing he could do for his team is sit out Game 1.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets never give up in stoppage time.