Detroit Piston’s point guard Reggie Jackson has been a disappointment to some this season, but Stan Van Gundy isn’t worried about Jackson’s play this season.
Are you worried about Reggie Jackson? If you ask Stan Van Gundy, he’ll tell you he isn’t.
"The Detroit Pistons coach said Wednesday before his team hosted the Dallas Mavericks (7:30 p.m., FSD) he has full confidence in Jackson’s ability to re-gain his burst of speed.“My confidence level in that is high,” Van Gundy said. “Look, it’s tough when you sit out training camp and miss that many games. Twenty-one games and training camp — that’s a long time, and a team starts to develop a little bit different identity.”“It’s an adjustment period for all of us, and I don’t have any doubts he’ll come back to playing the way he was before,” Van Gundy said. “You never say that you’re 100 percent (sure), but 99 percent? He’s too young. He’s not 35 years old, where he’s on a downward spiral and he might be losing it. He’ll get it back.”“I’m not really worried about how long it takes for him to come back”, Van Gundy said. “I think he’s played well. He’s had a couple of really good stretches for us. Lately, what we’ve had is sort of everybody go up and down. He’s hit a tough spot.”"
My take? I’m concerned. Not necessarily that Jackson won’t get his speed back, but whether or not he can stay healthy.
Jackson has struggled with knee tendinitis in the past. In fact, this is his second time to have surgery for that very issue.
I’m not doctor, but I wonder if this isn’t something that is going to be an issue more frequently in the future. After all, the easiest cure for tendinitis is to stop being as active and that’s not something professional athletes can do obviously.
As for Jackson’s play this season, I’m not concerned about what’s transpired. As Van Gundy mentioned, he missed 21 games. Not only is it difficult to get back into game shape after missing that much time due to injury, but it’s also difficult to find a rhythm on a team that learned how to play without you.
Next: Zac Lowe talks Detroit Pistons basketball
Reggie Jackson will be fine when he’s finally 100 percent. I just wonder how long he can stay at 100 percent.