Stanley Johnson hasn't progressed from injury as team hoped

While the Detroit Pistons received good news on the injury front about Jodie Meeks, the news is not so rosy for rookie small forward Stanley Johnson.

Johnson "hasn't really progressed" the way the team would like, said head coach Stan Van Gundy, according to the Detroit Free Press. "He's feeling discomfort. There's nothing in terms of when (doctors) look in there -- there's nothing more going on -- but he's not feeling comfortable. That's really where it is right now."

The news could be the most minor of setbacks or could be a precursor to a longer stint away from the team. Johnson has been listed as out indefinitely since spraining his shoulder Feb. 22. Van Gundy said the next day that it appeared Johnson would be out "a couple of weeks."

A couple of weeks would be March 7, and there is no indication if there is any chance Johnson could be back by that date or how much longer he could be out with discomfort.

Johnson played all 38 games during his one and only season at Arizona with his most significant injury being a poke to the eye. He played 57 consecutive games for Detroit until spraining his shoulder. Perhaps this could be just a player unfamiliar with injury figuring out the healing process and pain thresholds of returning. If that is the case, his return could be relatively imminent. If it's something more ... I don't even want to think about it.

We'll have more on this story as it develops.