Van Gundy, Bower: No Restrictions On Reggie Entering Season
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
By doing less in the offseason, Reggie Jackson is ready for more.
Both Pistons GM Jeff Bower and head coach Stan Van Gundy said on Wednesday morning that Jackson, who played in just 52 games last season due to left knee tendinitis, is ready to go full-bore.
Detroit opens play Wednesday night versus the Hornets.
"He's got no restrictions on him now," Van Gundy told 97.1 The Ticket. "We went according to the protocol that the doctors and our medical staff laid out. We stuck to that."
The protocol called for less physical activity over the summer to reduce the strain on Jackson's knee. The Pistons rushed Jackson back too soon last season, and he never found his stride.
But he's ready to hit the ground running this season.
"I think the rehab process that he went through was extremely effective," Bower said. "It was conservative and built long-term on being able to sustain the levels of play. That was a very effective period for him."
Jackson was limited for the beginning of training camp, but he's taken on a full workload of late. He played 28 minutes in the Pistons' final game of the preseason last Friday versus the Bucks, and wanted to play more.
"He's now been back doing everything for about eight or nine straight days. He hasn't missed anything. Played longer the other night in Milwaukee, felt good, so he goes in with no restrictions," said Van Gundy.
There is one hurdle remaining, however.
"His conditioning still isn't where everyone else's is, but it's made real strides in the last week. We'll just see how it goes. It's more just reading his fatigue levels and everything else," said Van Gundy.
To that end, it's likely that backup point guard Ish Smith will see more minutes in the early part of the season. The Pistons like what he brings as a passer, and Van Gundy has already said the gap in playing time between Jackson and Smith won't be wide.
"Those two are going to play 48 minutes total so it's 26 and 22 or 28 and 20 or 24 and 24. I think the biggest spread it might get to if one of them is having a great night might be 30 and 18, but they're going to take up the 48 minutes," Van Gundy said, via the Free Press.
The Pistons are a much better team with Jackson at full health, as evidenced by the 2015-16 season. If the point guard can recover that form, his team will have a strong chance of making the playoffs in a watered-down Eastern Conference.
Said Bower, "His training camp play has been good and he continues to get himself in the basketball groove. We're encouraged by his physical health and we're encouraged with his approach and what he brings to this floor. Looking for good things."
