The Detroit Pistons were absolutely blasted by both the Brooklyn Nets and then the Miami Heat following a five game winning streak. What's worse, the loss to the Nets saw Brooklyn leapfrog Detroit for sixth spot in the East, while the Heat moved closer to the Pistons in the standings.
During the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's blowout loss to the Heat, point guard Reggie Jackson injured his ankle after he accidentally stepped on teammate Zaza Pachulia's foot. Jackson tried to make it to the bench, but crumpled down on the court.
However, Jackson is saying that despite the pain, he'll be okay and that he's not worried.
“I stepped on Zaza’s foot. It just hurt,” Jackson said. “I’ll be good; I’m not worried about it.”
Pistons fans can be excused for worrying, considering Jackson missed nearly 40 games last season with a grade-3 ankle sprain, and 30 games the previous year with knee tendinitis.
Head coach Dwane Casey was quick to point out that despite the game being out of reach, Jackson was still in the game because he wanted to see him play some more minutes.
“It was six minutes to go and I was ready to get him out and he turned his ankle — that was the rationale,” Casey said. “It’s not like we’re going to give up. He hadn’t played very much and we wanted to get some run in. I think Reggie’s OK.”
“We have to start well and finish well — that’s the whole key to the game,” Jackson said. “If we’re not starting off well, we make it very difficult and put ourselves behind the 8-ball.”
The Pistons return home on Friday to Little Caesars Arena to play the Los Angeles Lakers, with former teammate Reggie Bullock making his return. Reggie Jackson's availability for Friday remains unknown at this point.
