The Detroit Pistons have been one of the harder teams to figure out through the early parts of the 2017-18 campaign. After a torrid start, Detroit has come back to Earth and currently hold a 19-14 record and sole possession of the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference.
However, positioning is likely the last thing on their mind currently, as the team announced that point guard Reggie Jackson will miss at least 6-8 weeks with a right ankle sprain:
Pistons guard Reggie Jackson had an MRI today that revealed a grade 3 ankle sprain. He will miss 6-8 weeks and then get re-evaluated. pic.twitter.com/UXsWuQfW0p
— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) December 27, 2017
Though it can be argued that Tobias Harris or Andre Drummond may have a bigger overall impact on the Pistons, it’s hard to overstate just how important Reggie Jackson is to their success. Jackson has had his ups and downs as the Pistons’ starting point guard but had started to really find his rhythm lately as a catalyst and facilitator for this Detroit offense.
A timeline of 6-8 weeks could keep Jackson sidelined all the way through the 2018 All-Star weekend in February, something that doesn’t bode well for the Pistons playoff hopes.
With Jackson now out, we should expect to see a lot more of Ish Smith who has proven to be a capable fill-in for spurts on previous occasions. Jackson will join fellow starter Avery Bradley as the dinged up pieces in Detroit’s backcourt, likely resulting in increased minutes for Luke Kennard and Langston Galloway as well. The 27-year-old Jackson was posting per-game averages of 14.6 points and 5.5 assists on the season.
