Pistons' anticipated reunion may be put on hold

The Detroit Pistons travel to Chicago to face the Bulls tonight in what should be their first reunion with former player Jaden Ivey, but that may be put on hold. 

Ivey is listed as questionable with knee discomfort, one game after he caught his first DNP-CD of the season. Ivey did mention that his knee had been bothering him but seemed surprised that he was out of the rotation. 

I was curious what Ivey would look like from the other side of things and hoped he would play tonight just to add an extra wrinkle to the game. You do have to wonder if the Bulls are just holding him out because they are tanking and trying to lose as many games as possible after blowing up their mediocre roster at the deadline. 

I’m not totally buying the injury report, only because Ivey was just traded a few weeks ago, and they didn’t have any concerns about his knee then. It’s possible the Bulls are doing what the Pistons probably should have done, which is hold Ivey out until he was 100 percent. 

Both Ivey and the Pistons had interest in getting him back on the court as soon as possible, but there is a chance he was rushed a bit, as the pre-season injury set him back, and he never recovered his trademark burst. 

Hopefully there is nothing serious with Ivey, and I do hope we see him in action tonight, mostly because I want to see Ausar Thompson guard him. 

Detroit Pistons injuries: Tolu Smith out but Jalen Duren returns 

The Bulls won’t be happy that Jalen Duren is off his suspension and will return to action tonight rested and ready to go. 

The Pistons will still be without Isaiah Stewart for five more games, which is not ideal, but Duren and superstar third center Paul Reed should be able to hold it down until his return. 

The only player listed on the injury report is Tolu Smith, who stepped in and played against the Knicks and may be auditioning to be the next Daniss Jenkins. 

Smith is listed as questionable with a knee contusion, so the Pistons will likely be down to just two centers again tonight.

That means Duren and Reed need to stay out of foul trouble. The Bulls only have one real center on their roster, so this should be night when Duren dominates the boards and puts up big numbers. 

We may have to wait to see Jaden Ivey’s reunion with the Pistons, who hope to keep rolling against the Bulls, who have lost seven straight.