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Will Reggie Jackson’s conditioning impact the Pistons?

By Brandon Marlow

Mar 25, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1) give five to guard Steve Blake (22) before the game against the Charlotte Hornets at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 112-105. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 25, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1) give five to guard Steve Blake (22) before the game against the Charlotte Hornets at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 112-105. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Reggie Jackson has been widely loved by the Detroit Pistons’ community since his arrival in early 2015 thanks to his non-stop hustle and constant heroic fourth quarter performances.

Reggie Jackson proved doubters wrong over the past season as he showed he was a legitimate starting point guard in the NBA and was worth “John Wall money” when putting on breathtaking displays, such as his 26-point final quarter on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers to single handily steal a victory.

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We know Jackson has All-Star potential and is the clearcut option at point guard for the foreseeable future, however there’s one serious issue which may need to be addressed; Reggie Jackson is unable to play high minutes.

Unfortunately, this isn’t an issue that can entirely be solved by “getting in shape”. On the contrary, Jackson seems to be in quite good shape but is being held back mostly by his asthma condition.

These health problems were evident from Jackson’s very first game with the Pistons, where a combination of his asthma, nerves and his relentless pursuit to give 100 percent on every possession saw him vomit mid-game, while earlier this year he was hospitalised due to dehydration and exhaustion.

Around the time he was hospitalised he acknowledged the problem, saying he often had instances where it “feels like my body’s overheating and freezing at the same time, as well as queasy.”

Clearly the organisation and Jackson are aware of the problems and working to manage them, but the scary thing is that this has been an ongoing issue and regular tests haven’t unearthed an answer.

Via MLive

"“It’s always kind of been like that. I’ve always tried to make sure everything is all right with checkups. I’m sure we’ll continue to go through the process of trying to figure out what’s going on. But I trust in the organization, trust in the staff, and everything that they’re doing to make sure I’m OK.”"

The end result of all these problems saw Reggie Jackson playing just 30.7 minutes per game last season, the lowest of the Pistons’ starters.

It isn’t exactly ideal to have one of your two best players playing the lowest minutes of your starters and one of the lowest minutes per game averages of all starting point guards.

This inability for Jackson to play significant minutes undoubtedly contributed to some of the Pistons’ troubles last season, as Stan Van Gundy was forced to eek out 17 painful minutes of Steve Blake each game.

While the signing of Ish Smith is without question an upgrade at backup point guard, it still isn’t ideal for him to be spending more time on the court than most backups.

With the Pistons now having a taste of playoff action they’ll be gearing up to make a deeper post-season run this season, but what will be done about Jackson’s minute restrictions?

Jackson did play 36.8 minutes during their playoff series against eventual champions Cleveland, however this was just a four game stretch and it remains to be seen if he could handle 36 minutes per game for a much longer span over the post-season.

Both of the starting point guards in this year’s Finals played around 35 minutes per game, so this is the benchmark the Pistons will need Jackson to be at if they are to make an impact late in the season.

Reggie Jackson is vital to the success of this team and the more minutes he plays the better.

His pick and roll game is a crucial part of not only the Pistons offence, but also crucial to bringing Andre Drummond into the game offensively, while his fourth quarter play is invaluable.

He led the league in clutch scoring with 4.8 points and also shot 42.4 per cent from the field and 46.2 per cent from three with the game on the line.

Next: Projecting the Pistons' point guard depth chart

However, unless a miracle solution is found for Reggie’s conditioning issues it may be unrealistic to play him for longer periods of time, and if that’s the case it’s up to Stan Van Gundy to get the rotations spot on to maximise Jackson’s impact.

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