After resting in the Los Angeles Clippers’ thrilling reserve-driven win over the Utah Jazz, Blake Griffin may rest again in the regular season finale against the Phoenix Suns.
As Blake Griffin and all the Los Angeles Clippers’ best players rested against the Utah Jazz, it was easy to think that Doc Rivers was willing to hand the Jazz a win and help them into the playoffs as the 8th seed over the Houston Rockets. Resting Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, while losing Austin Rivers to injury, was surely a going to be an immense struggle.
The Clippers’ nine-man roster and a remarkable effort from the bench put that to rest, though, as Jamal Crawford buried a pull-up three-pointer at the final second of overtime for a 102-99 win.
On a night when Pablo Prigioni played 42 minutes, Crawford played 48 and dropped 30 points, and Cole Aldrich performed like Jordan with 21 points, 18 rebounds and five steals, the Clippers suddenly didn’t need their stars or most of their roster.
Yet, while this does show how much the bench has improved, especially after the reserves almost defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 31 in a two-point loss, this won’t be a frequent occurrence. Stars will be needed and more than any others, Griffin will need to play to find his rhythm.
Doc Rivers has said that he will play in the Clippers’ next two games against the against the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies, but he may rest in the regular season finale against the lowly Phoenix Suns (per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times):
Doc Rivers said Blake Griffin will play against Dallas and Memphis but may not against Phoenix.
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) April 8, 2016
If there’s a game the Clippers can win without Griffin, even when he’s off-form and returning from three missed months, it’s the game against the Suns. However, that really isn’t the point when looking at the conclusion of the regular season.
The playoff seedings are practically confirmed for the top part of the Western Conference, with the Clippers locked in at 4th behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and eight wins ahead of the 5th place Portland Trail Blazers. The Clippers don’t need to win these games, although maybe after that overtime win against the Jazz, they’ll keep fighting harder than ever as if they need to.
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As for Griffin, the remainder of the season isn’t about wins; it’s about getting back to the Blake Griffin we know so well. The triple-double threat, the dynamic scorer, the high-flying finisher, and point-guard-like floor general isn’t going to be present after such injuries, which is why he needs as much time on the court as he can to find that form.
It won’t happen over night, though, and if Griffin does sit against the Suns, he’ll have had only five games since returning before the playoffs. Of course, Doc is considering his health for the playoffs, and that’s something the Clippers will need if they want to pose as much threat as possible.
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But, at this point, it’s hard to win in this situation where a balance between complete rest and top form can’t really be found. It’s just easier to see that the latter is more urgent and an extra game against the Suns could help.