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Reggie Jackson is working his way back from his Grade 3 ankle sprain. Per Pistons.com’s Keith Langlois:
Reggie Jackson injury update pic.twitter.com/6rlN1LQYU4
— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) February 21, 2018
Being cleared to run seems like a good first step (no pun intended).
Jackson, of course, injured his ankle the day after Christmas against the Indiana Pacers, and was initially scheduled to be re-evaluated six-to-eight weeks after that time. A little back-of-the-envelope math says this is the ninth week since then, so it’s a little later than initially projected. However, after the abject disaster that was semi-healthy Reggie Jackson last year, it’s understandable that the Pistons are taking his recovery slowly.
Optimistically, the extra reevaluation time puts Reggie close to a return - like this speculation from the Detroit News’ Rod Beard:
The key words there are "the week" to me. If he's good to go next week, he could be ramped up again to normal basketball activities. From there, could be another week or two until he's full go. https://t.co/0aQfb0iG8S
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) February 21, 2018
Pessimistically, it’s already too late, as nine-plus weeks without their starting point guard has already put the Pistons too far behind in the chase for the No. 8 seed. Your mileage may vary.
Realistically, the Pistons play the Chicago Bulls at home on March 9, then have three straight off days leading into their six-game western road trip. That’s about the time I would start looking for Reggie to return - roughly three weeks from now.
The Pistons are a better team when Reggie Jackson is both playing and fully healthy. Fans should hope that time comes sooner rather than later.