Dunleavy is keeping an eye on sidelined Blake Griffin

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You feel a little bit for the Clippers’ Blake Griffin.

Enough talking, and more talking, about being the league’s No. 1 overall draft pick in June. The kid just wants to play and do it all. Now.

So having to sit by and watch his teammates in training camp because of an injured left knee is hoop torture for the power forward from Oklahoma. Naturally, the rookie is pushing the envelope.

‘He is feeling better,’ Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy said on today. ‘He was out there yesterday before the second practice. I was upstairs there in my office and I was watching him and he was shooting.’

Dunleavy’s office at Clippers’ HQ in Playa Vista has a nice clear view of the court.

Then I saw him do things he shouldn’t be doing,’ Dunleavy said. ‘Had to bang on the window and go down and explain to him, ‘Look, you’re out until ... this thing needs to rest. If you jump around, it will not clear up and it’s just more days [out].

‘Just do what you’re told to do.’

What exactly was the forbidden move?

‘I saw him jump up in the air,’ Dunleavy said. ‘He jumped like 5 feet in the air and landed. It’s not what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s mad ... he feels better like he can play. It’s one of those things where we need it to clear up. It’s not a big thing. If you don’t let it clear up, it had the chance for deposits to build, things that we don’t need to have happen happen.

Clearly, the ultra-fit Griffin is not going to go soft in a few days.

‘We already know he’s in great shape,’ Dunleavy said. ‘He not going to lose anything ... as long as he’s on the sideline learning. I question him after each practice.’

At least the knee injury helped in one way. The veterans are going light on the rookie.

‘He’s getting it easy right now because he won’t be [playing] here for training camp and probably not for first couple of preseason [games],’ said the Clippers’ Eric Gordon, remembering his own rookie duties last season in camp. ‘They’re gonna get him at some point since he’s the lone guy and he hasn’t been around much. He’s still gonna get it.

‘We had three of us last year, so it was a little easier rotation. But I don’t think they’re going to be as hard on him.’

-- Lisa Dillman