Pistons’ Reggie Jackson out 6-8 weeks with knee injury

Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy says that his starting point guard Reggie Jackson could be out six to eight weeks with a knee injury.

The Detroit Pistons are looking to build on their first Eastern Conference Playoffs of the Stan Van Gundy era this season. However, the Pistons will have to tread water immediately out of the gate.

Head coach Van Gundy told Rod Beard of the Detroit News that his starting point guard Reggie Jackson will be out six to eight weeks with a knee injury. Van Gundy did say that Jackson is not opting for surgery, so this could potentially hasten his recovery.

With the 2016-17 NBA season only a few weeks away, this is not good news for the Pistons getting off to a good start. Jackson is one of the most valuable players Van Gundy has at his disposal.

Van Gundy paid top dollar to pry Jackson away from a rotational role with the Oklahoma City Thunder for a starting one in Detroit a few years ago. Jackson flourished with more playing time in the 2015-16 NBA season.

Slow starts are one way that NBA teams fail to reach the playoffs. A slow start in the nation’s capital derailed the Washington Wizards. Detroit isn’t going to start the year out 5-25 like the Pistons did in Van Gundy’s first year on the job. However, Jackson’s knee injury only hurts the Piston’s playoff chances.

There are only three teams in the Eastern Conference that won’t make the NBA Playoffs this season: the Brooklyn Nets, the Miami Heat, and the Philadelphia 76ers. Brooklyn and Philadelphia are too young and Miami is in a rebuilding year.

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Teams two through 12 (Cleveland is clearly one) won’t be separated by more than a dozen or so games in the Eastern Conference. Injuries will play a huge part in this. Losing Jackson for roughly two months has Detroit behind the eight ball early in 2016-17.