Pistons resting Blake Griffin against Cavs for playoff run

March 18 (UPI) -- With the playoffs in sight for the Detroit Pistons, the team tonight will rest Blake Griffin against the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

Coach Dwane Casey announced today that the team will sit forward to keep him fresh for the rest of the season and hopeful postseason run.

Casey said the team wants to avoid stress on Griffin's body in the second of a back-to-back game.

It will be just the third time this season that Griffin that will not play in a game, the other two also coming on the back end of a back-to-back affair.

The forward scored 25 points and had eight rebounds in the Pistons' 110-107 victory Sunday over the Toronto Raptors.

It was a return to form for Griffin, who was slowing down during a three-game stretch before the effort against Toronto, averaging 12.7 points per game.

This season, the 30-year-old is averaging 24.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for Detroit, which enters play Monday at 36-33, good for sixth in the NBA's Eastern Conference.

Casey did not announce who would start in Griffin's place, but likely it will be either Jon Leuer or Glenn Robinson III.