Stan Van Gundy on Jodie Meeks' injury: 'We have no idea what happened'

Some quotes from Stan Van Gundy speaking to reporters about the loss of Jodie Meeks, who will miss at least eight weeks recovering from a stress reaction in his back -- from Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:

"It wasn't a matter of him getting hit or anything,'' coach Stan Van Gundy said. "After the first exhibition game, he said there was some tightness. We were going to start him the second game that night and, after a nap, he said he had some tightness in his back. He did the MRI and found out the problem.

From Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News:

"Jodie's gonna be out a while," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He's got a couple fractured vertebrae. It'll be a couple months before he's back. He doesn't have any idea how he did it. Doesn't getting hit. Didn't fall on the floor. We have no idea how it happened.

[...] "It's a big loss," Van Gundy said. "Coming out of camp and through the first preseason game against a good defensive game, I came out feeling good with that position over the first eight, nine days. Obviously we'll be a little thin there to begin the season."

[...] "It gives other guys a chance to play," Van Gundy said. "It's not ideal when you're putting things together, not by any means. But even in things you don't like there's silver linings."

As for how he'll replace Meeks in the starting lineup while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is also sidelined with a strained knee, Van Gundy will likely slide Kyle Singler over from small forward, starting with Wednesday's game against the Charlotte Hornets. From David Mayo of MLive:

"We've got to use those guys and get the best lineups out there we can," Van Gundy said. "I think Kyle's fine there (at shooting guard). The two and three aren't that different, other than some of the guys you have to chase around. Tomorrow is a big challenge, with (Lance) Stephenson and Gary Neal. Those are two really good players on the wings for them. All of our guys are all small-forward types now, while all their guys are more two-guard types. So that should be pretty interesting."