Blake Griffin Injury: The Case for the the Clippers Benching Blake

While Los Angeles Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro isn't so sure about Blake Griffin's status for Tuesday's Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs, the star power forward is now saying there's no question that he'll be playing.

Despite Griffin's determination to rise to the occasion in these playoffs, this may be a decision better left to the medical staff. According to the San Antonio Express-News' Jeff McDonald, Del Negro definitely wouldn't be playing Griffin if this were the regular season:

"

Vinny Del Negro says Blake Griffin (knee) not certain to play in Game 1. Said if it were regular season, Blake would get"a week or 2" off.

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) May 14, 2012"

The chance that Griffin will play in Game 1 anyway may sound like good news to Clippers fans at first, but it could be a huge mistake.

Sure, every game matters in the postseason, but the Clippers' most important upcoming contests will be Games 3 and 4—the ones played in Los Angeles. It's highly unlikely this young team will steal a game against the well-rested Spurs, especially after a seven-game ordeal against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

At the very least, Griffin (and his knee) could probably use the rest.

When those home games roll around, the Clippers will need Griffin at his best. Even if the similarly hobbled Chris Paul is this team's most valuable player, Griffin's explosive inside game could be Los Angeles' single-greatest advantage in this particular series.

But if the All-Star forward is to exploit that advantage, he'll need his knee in prime condition—to the greatest possible extent anyway.

Of course, there's also a more troubling scenario in which Griffin could injure himself more seriously by forcing the action too soon. Though it may be a seemingly low-probability risk, it would absolutely doom the Clippers' prospects in this series.

These risks might be entirely tolerable were it not for the fact that they're in pursuit of an almost certainly lost cause.

There's some chance San Antonio could have grown some rust over the course of their week-long rest, but there's a better chance the Spurs do what the Oklahoma City Thunder just did to Los Angeles' other team.

The Clippers are banged up and tired. They should cut their losses in San Antonio and prepare to make a stand at home. With a rested and comparatively healthier Griffin, that stand might actually mean something.