Blake Griffin missed the first 10 games of this season for the Detroit Pistons.
Since returning in mid-November, Griffin has been the worst version we've ever seen in his career. Griffin is currently averaging 16.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, on some pretty putrid shooting percentages. He's shooting 36 percent from the floor and 27 percent from deep, good for a true shooting percentage of 49.6.
All stats listed above are career-lows for the All-NBA player.
In the Pistons' most recent win over the Houston Rockets, Griffin was forced to sit the second half out after shooting 0-7 from the floor in 15 first-half minutes. It was getting too excruciating to watch for all parties, as Griffin was barely getting off the ground and looked like he was playing on one leg.
There was much noise made about when Griffin would return at the beginning of the season. Griffin seemed to tell The Athletic's Sham Charania that he felt like he was ready to play. However, he also said he was trying to follow what the plan the trainers had laid out for him.
One has to wonder if Griffin forced himself back to the court way too early because of the Pistons 4-10 start to the season.
While the Pistons have technically played better since Griffin returned to the floor, it's not due to his play. Griffin is playing some of the worst basketball of his career and hasn't looked healthy since day one. Playing Griffin when he looks like this doesn't help either party here.
Whatever comes of Griffin missing the second half of the Pistons win versus the Rockets, Detroit should seriously consider holding Griffin out as long as possible.
As said before, Griffin is so clearly not healthy. Playing him while he looks like this only does two things for the parties involved.
For Griffin, he simply doesn't look good. Playing through whatever he's going through with his left leg couldn't be helping him for the future.
And in the present, he's subjecting himself to the worst play of his career. Griffin showed last season after playing through a torn meniscus in his left knee in the playoffs that he doesn't enjoy watching his team struggle from the sidelines.
While that's noble and can be respectable at times, Griffin needs to understand he's hurting not only himself but his team by trying to play through this injury.
For the Pistons, you're simply a worse team with this version of Griffin on the floor. Griffin is incapable of playing any type of defense that involves moving, and he wasn't that great before on that side of the court, to begin with.
Offensively, Griffin is just standing out there. The three-point shot is taking up 43 percent of his attempts and he's shooting 27 percent from downtown. He's been forced to settle for bad three-point attempts because he's been incapable of getting to the rim with this injury.
This goes beyond just on-court play for the Detroit Pistons as well.
The Pistons have underperformed this year due to injury. Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson are in the midst of the final year of their contracts. Ed Stefanski and the front office will be faced with some serious decisions on this team moving forward.
Staying put and waiting for everyone to get healthy is certainly an option, and could very well be the most likely option. Head into the offseason, re-sign Drummond and use the cap space remaining to build anew around Griffin and Drummond.
However, trading one of their twin towers is an option too. With the way Drummond has improved in this season, the Pistons would likely choose to keep him over Griffin if that choice had to be made.
Playing Griffin while he's hurt is only making an aging player on a massive contract's trade value dip even further.
It looks like Detroit is committed to Griffin and Griffin is committed to Detroit. However, good front offices keep all options on deck. Playing Griffin right now is completely eliminating a route for this franchise to potentially take for the future.
For the good of all parties involved, Blake Griffin needs to be sat down.
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