Detroit Pistons’ head coach Stan Van Gundy updated Reggie Jackson’s health on Wednesday at a press conference in downtown Detroit.
The Detroit Pistons announced an agreement with Flagstar Bank on Wednesday, making the financial institution their first jersey partnership. After the press conference at the Nike factory outlet store in downtown Detroit (less than half a mile from the site of Little Caesars Arena), head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy took questions.
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Perhaps the most important topic on the minds of Pistons fans, the health of Reggie Jackson‘s knee and the progress of his rehab was a pertinent topic of curiosity. Jackson’s 2016-17 season was essentially robbed after he was diagnosed with knee tendinitis prior to the start of the preseason. He returned after missing the first 21 games, but he was largely dreadful on both ends of the floor and among the worst rotational players in the NBA.
It was a far cry from a 2015-16 campaign in which he nearly made the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
As a result of this tremendous drop-off, Jackson’s health is likely the single-most important concern going into the coming season for the Detroit Pistons.
“He’s doing good. I talk to him at least once a week. He’s doing well and feeling good, and I think feeling confident too. Things are going in the right way so I’m gonna go out there some time in the next couple weeks and spend some time with him,” said Van Gundy.
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He went into further detail on Jackson’s rehab regimen. “They put him on a rehab protocol that is longer, a 16 week protocol where they’re slowly getting him ready for the season instead of getting him right back out on the court right away and doing his normal summer work.” Van Gundy continued, “He’s taking it slowly and ramping up more slowly, a lot more slowly than usual but really just concentrating on strengthening the leg and doing the conditioning he can do without pounding on the joint. So it’s a combination of rest and strength and conditioning. It’s all going well. We’ve had our physical therapist out there pretty much all summer with him to monitor his physical therapy.”
As for when Jackson will be ready to play and what the specific goals and timetables are for his rehabilitation, Van Gundy’s target is reasonable.
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“The target date is to be ready to play this season. Our hope is that he’s ready to go for training camp, probably with some modifications, whether he’ll go twice a day. Again, there’s nothing structural, just a matter of trying to keep him on track and being able to play well and not have to worry about it. So number one is get right physically, and to get to where he really has confidence. That’s where I think last year he never got to 100 percent.”