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Pistons Mailbag - October 19, 2016

Lots of chatter about the point guard position – Reggie Jackson’s recovery, Ish Smith’s chemistry, and the battle between Lorenzo Brown and Ray McCallum Jr. – dominate the subject matter in the latest edition of Pistons Mailbag.

Kim (Sterling Heights, Mich.): Assuming Reggie misses the first 20 games of the season, can the Pistons play .500 ball? If not, do they try to make a trade or ride it out until Reggie is ready?

Langlois: Stan Van Gundy has been consistent in maintaining the Pistons are unlikely to do anything drastic with Jackson due to return in perhaps as little as five weeks from now if he hits the short end of his projected six- to eight-week time frame for recovery. He said they are most unlikely to waive someone with a guaranteed contract to create an extra roster spot to carry three point guards while Jackson is out. The way your question is framed – if they don’t play .500 while he’s out, will they make a trade? – in a roundabout way describes the dilemma they face. If they were sure they’d play .500 or better, they more than likely would stand pat. If they were sure they’d be four or more games under .500, maybe they’d be motivated to make a trade now. But if they’re 8-12 when Jackson is ready to return, it wouldn’t make much sense to make a trade at that time, would it? The time to trade would be sooner rather than later. By their actions so far, they appear inclined to roll with Ish Smith as the starter and either Ray McCallum Jr. or Lorenzo Brown as the backup until Jackson’s return.

Carl (Westland, Mich.): Did the Pistons express any interest in Michael Carter-Williams before Milwaukee traded him to another division rival, Chicago?

Langlois: Not sure, but it’s reasonable to assume – given the way Pistons general manager Jeff Bower works his job – they were aware the Bucks were (a) in the market for a wing player to address the long-term loss of Khris Middleton and (b) shopping Michael Carter-Williams. I suspect that Carter-Williams was a tough fit for the Pistons simply because Jackson is due back by early December at the latest and then what? He wants to be a starter. He’s been OK with coming off the bench in a prominent role but you can safely assume he would be restless being the No. 3 point guard in the season before he’s due to hit the free-agent market. The Pistons targeted Ish Smith in free agency for, among other reasons, the fact that he plays at a fast pace and is a very adept pick-and-roll point guard, similar to Reggie Jackson in many ways. Carter-Williams would represent a different style for them. Even if you prefer Carter-Williams in a vacuum, the Pistons saw Smith as the right fit for them and maybe they’re less sure of that fit with Carter-Williams. Even more unknowable is how Milwaukee might have viewed the wing options the Pistons had relative to what they got from Chicago in Tony Snell. The closest comparison would be Reggie Bullock – same level of experience, same ability to play both shooting guard and small forward. Maybe the Pistons wouldn’t have been willing to deal Bullock – Stan Van Gundy regards him as the team’s best 3-point shooter – but it doesn’t matter what their intentions if the Bucks preferred Snell.

Tomas (@tkrepostman): How much D-League do you think our rookies are going to play? Is there any truth that Gbinije may be used more than Henry?

Langlois: Can’t separate those two questions, Tomas. The key to the first lies in the second. If Gbinije cracks the rotation, then he obviously isn’t going to be spending any time in Grand Rapids. If he doesn’t, he’s a prime candidate to spend quite a bit of time with the Drive. Yes, there’s a chance Gbinije plays more than Ellenson based solely on the depth chart. Stan Van Gundy is very high on Ellenson. Last Thursday, he told me, “He’s a 19-year-old kid and it’s getting stronger physically, more ready to compete. But 6-11 with the skills he’s got? I mean, I don’t know how he doesn’t become a good player. It’s just a matter of timing.” Ellenson is behind Tobias Harris and Jon Leuer on the depth chart at power forward, but even that doesn’t fully define the depth issue that blocks his path to playing time at this point. If the Pistons have their full complement of players, if Harris or Leuer were injured or in foul trouble and a game was on the line, Van Gundy would more than likely use Marcus Morris at power forward and Stanley Johnson at small forward before going to Ellenson at this point. He might even slot Gbinije in at small forward, given his maturity – keep in mind that Gbinije, at 24, is 4½ years older than Ellenson – and ability to guard on the perimeter, handle the ball and shoot. I would expect Ellenson to get some time in Grand Rapids if by, say, mid-December he has played rarely, but the Pistons will also want him around them a great deal to soak up their culture and acclimate to the day-to-day grind of NBA life with them.

Matt (Las Vegas): I hear Paul George and Reggie Jackson are good friends. Any chance they have talked about playing together? Any chance the Pistons try to trade for him?

Langlois: They are very good friends, stemming from the 2011 NBA draft when they shared an agent and were workout partners in the weeks leading to draft night. They’ve continued to make Southern California their off-season workout base and this year Jackson lived at George’s recently purchased home there. They also vacationed together in Europe last summer. There’ve been very few high-profile instances of players forming bonds and then taking advantage of free agency to become teammates, the Miami experience the most obvious example. The list of players so desirable that any team would gladly sign them to maximum contracts is relatively short. Pre-injury Paul George was certainly on that list and he’s very likely proven enough since returning to regain that status. Beyond that short list, players can talk about playing together all they want but it takes a front office sharing their enthusiasm and having the wherewithal to make a deal happen. The Pacers swapped point guard George Hill over the off-season and wound up getting Atlanta’s Jeff Teague back in the three-team deal. I think it’s probably fair to assume the Pacers would have been at least as interested in Jackson as Teague and even more certain that the Pistons wouldn’t have had any interest in discussing a deal for Jackson that didn’t include George, so … not much traction to be gained there. The Pacers aren’t trading George under current circumstances. If their season goes horribly wrong, maybe they plot a different course. Still tough to foresee anyone calling the shots in Indiana – Larry Bird or someone else, should it come to that – deciding the way to get better is to deal George.

Cody (@ImCodyKing): How well should the offense run without Reggie Jackson?

Langlois: Stan Van Gundy repeatedly called Jackson one of the top eight point guards in the NBA last season. They handpicked Ish Smith in free agency to back him up, but they’re not trying to convince anyone that he can step in and there’ll be no dropoff in productivity at the position. That said, they expect Smith will do what he does and give the Pistons a chance to win games while Jackson is out, doing his best to facilitate offense for the players who’ll have to pick up the scoring load – Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris doing some work in isolation and post-ups, a little more from Andre Drummond in the post and from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope off of screens. It’s no secret that the Pistons were heavily dependent on Jackson last season. Nobody ran more pick and rolls than the Pistons. That’s also a strength of Smith’s, so it won’t be a radical departure for the Pistons, and Van Gundy wanted to diversify the offense a little this year, anyway, to become somewhat less reliant on Jackson. He’s also hopeful that the defense will be improved enough to give the Pistons just enough breathing room to allow for a little bit of a downturn offensively without Jackson. Their last three preseason games have produced positive signs as the Pistons have held the opposition to 82.7 points and .392 shooting while forcing 19.7 turnovers a game and averaging 18 points a game in transition. If they come close to sustaining some of those numbers – or, more realistically, sustaining the defensive focus that allowed them to overwhelm a few teams missing a few key players even as they were also missing two to three starters in each of those games – they’ll likely survive Jackson’s absence with their goals intact.

Ryan (Aliso Viejo, Calif.): If Reggie Jackson’s PRP treatment was used to help his pain management in his knee, how much pain would he deal with if he suited up for the first game? Six to eight weeks seems very long for a tendinitis-related injury.

Langlois: Well, he had a whole team of doctors who thought otherwise, Ryan. The idea of PRP treatment is to use the athlete’s own blood to spur healing. Jackson’s injury was diagnosed as tendinosis, or chronic tendinitis. Taken to the extreme, tendinitis can lead to tendon ruptures. Ruptured patellar tendons are more damaging today than a torn ligament to an athlete’s longevity and prospects for a full return. Jackson was off of crutches by Monday and he’s begun conditioning drills already, though nothing involving his legs – core work, cardiovascular work on a cycle propelled by the arms and another cardio machine, VersaClimber. The idea is to maintain conditioning as can be best accomplished so that when he’s cleared to resume basketball activity, he won’t have to spend another few weeks getting back to basketball condition.

Steve (@paqman13): What is Andre Drummond’s free throw shot look like right now? Any noticeable difference?

Langlois: He’s taken 12 in four preseason appearances and made four, which is a dip from the career-worst 35 percent he shot last season. That said, I’ve only seen one ball come off his hand looking bad from its release – a shot in the opener at Brooklyn that grazed the right side of the rim. His other attempts have been on target, at least, some off the back rim, some off the front rim. And he was 2 for 2, both textbook form, in Monday’s win over Milwaukee. The consistency of rotation appears generally improved over last season. But, bottom line, it’s got to go in the basket at a better clip or the Pistons are going to face even more intentional fouling tactics this season, I would expect.

Shawn (@ShawnZahn): How has the chemistry between Ish and Andre looked so far? Seems like it’s still a work in progress.

Langlois: Everybody says they like playing with Smith and that he’s an easy guy to play with. Smith’s three-game stretch of 21 assists and zero turnovers certainly suggests he’s settling in nicely. If you judge their chemistry by the number of pick-and-roll lob dunks produced, that’s probably not the best barometer. Since Drummond proved himself such a devastating roll force early in his career, it’s become the No. 1 thing teams take away. Even at the risk of allowing the point guard to drive to the rim relatively unimpeded, teams would rather a point guard trying to finish at the rim on closing defenders than Drummond catching the ball a foot above the rim with no possibility of preventing two points. But, yeah, I’d expect the more Drummond sets screens for Smith, the better Smith will become at using them to full advantage.

Detroit Young Guns (@DetroitYungGuns): What do you think are the chances of SVG not using one of Brown or McCallum as the backup point guard to start the season?

Langlois: Slim. Unless they find out something between now and the start of the season that clouds the timing of Jackson’s return, I take Van Gundy at his word. He’s said a move isn’t likely. He’s said waiving a player with a guaranteed contract to keep both Brown and McCallum (or adding another point guard and keeping one of Brown and McCallum) is most unlikely. My hunch is they’ll probably play Smith a few more minutes a game than they would have played Jackson with Smith as his backup, but I’ve been struck in Van Gundy’s two seasons how trusting he is of guys outside the rotation when the need arises to move them into the playing group. He always says he’s confident that anyone on the roster can help the team win games and I sense that his players have come to believe that’s genuinely the case – and that’s why they don’t play as if they’re looking over their shoulder when they get their chance. So I won’t be surprised, whether it’s Brown or McCallum, that the Pistons get capable backup minutes out of their point guard while Smith starts.