Blake Griffin Out for Pistons' NBA Playoffs Opener vs. Bucks with Knee Injury

Detroit Pistons star Blake Griffin won't play in the team's Game 1 matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday as he deals with left knee soreness, according to the Detroit News' Rod Beard.

The 2018-19 season was a return to form for Griffin. He averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 75 appearances for the Pistons. He also continued to show off his improved scoring range.

Entering this year, Griffin had 191 made three-pointers over his first nine seasons. He connected on 189 threes in 2018-19 alone and shot 36.2 percent from beyond the arc.

In large part because of Griffin's performance, the Pistons returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. He led the team in scoring and assists and was second in rebounding.

Griffin's injury presents a big problem to Detroit. Beyond the fact that he's one of the team's best players, head coach Dwane Casey will likely turn to Thon Maker at power forward. Maker showed promise early in his career in Milwaukee, but he made only 37.3 percent of his field-goal attempts in 29 games with the Pistons.

Relying on Maker to play significant minutes in a playoff series is a recipe for disaster against the top-seeded Bucks.