Pistons' Jackson on crutches: 'Everything happens for a reason'
Auburn Hills — The pain was mounting, but Pistons guard Reggie Jackson just wanting to keep pushing through tendinitis. Throughout training camp, his left knee hurt a little more, but he could still play.
He just wasn’t himself.
The coaches knew it and he knew it.
It came time to do something about it.
“It got to a point where I didn’t look like me on the court. I was effective; I just wasn’t as explosive and I was hesitant to make moves,” Jackson said Tuesday, back at the Pistons practice facility, on crutches, after having treatment on the knee Monday in New York.
Jackson had a platelet-rich plasma injection — the second such procedure in the same knee in his career — and also had a PRP treatment for his right thumb, for an ulnar collateral ligament sprain.
The timetable for Jackson’s recovery looks to be around six to eight weeks and he has confidence — from having had the same procedure in 2011, during his rookie season — that he’ll have another good rehab and be back by late November or early December.
That would around 10-20 games of the regular season, but the immediate focus is getting healthy and being back around his teammates.
“I’m good. I’m not really sweating it; it’s part of the process. Everything happens for a reason,” Jackson said. “I was actually more happy leaving the hospital yesterday that I have been in about a week.
“To find out the diagnosis and figure out what the procedure would be to get back, that was the hard part. Once I got the procedure, it was a like a burden was let off and a sigh of relief. Now it’s back to recovery and thinking about getting back on the court.”
Jackson and coach Stan Van Gundy said many players deal with tendinitis on a regular basis, but when it gets to extreme pain, it has to be dealt with. Jackson tried to soldier through it, but when it started impacted his performance, it became a bigger issue.
During the summer, he was feeling some pain but thought that he could work through the issues. Then, he started overcompensating for the left knee — and the coaches and training staff didn’t want that to lead to something worse.
“(Tendinitis) feels like a sharp needle is stuck into your knee constantly," Jackson said.
"I can play with it for a while but I couldn’t play the type of minutes I was accustomed to playing. Once it got cold, it got worse and trying to heat it back up (was an issue). I’m (wasn’t) even jumping off it, not using it at all …
“For the coaches and training staff, it was evident I was hesitant to make certain plays and got it checked out and figured out this was the best way to go.”
Point guards
With Jackson shelved for an extended period, the Pistons will have only Ish Smith and either Lorenzo Brown or Ray McCallum on the final roster as point guards. Van Gundy said the only other option to keep three other point guards would be to cut a player with a guaranteed contract, which is highly unlikely.
That leaves a void for a third point guard, which could mean that another position player would have to handle the duties of bringing the ball up court and initiating the offense in those emergency situations.
One option could be Stanley Johnson, who has some experience at it.
“I played point guard in high school exclusively. Most teams I’ve played other than here, such as USA Basketball,” Johnson said. “Our offense is so simple now: to bring it up, you just have to get it up the court safely.
“We did it last year when Reggie got hurt. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw a little bit of time. Obviously, I love playing my position.”
Gbinije waits
…Rookie Michael Gbinije is one of the few players in training camp who hasn’t seen any playing time, but Van Gundy said that he’s been playing the best among the wings and could earn some minutes in Thursday’s game at Atlanta.
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