The light on Brandon Jennings has turned from red, but it’s not yet green. Still yellow, though his successful return as a member of the Grand Rapids Drive at least assured him that it’s not going to stay that way forever.
“I think we’re still going to take our time,” Jennings said after talking with Stan Van Gundy following Sunday’s practice, in which Jennings participated about 14 hours after wrapping up his 11-point, 12-assist, 27-minute performance in leading a 130-104 Drive rout before a sellout of 6,000 plus. “I think more on the defensive end, I’m still having trouble right now pushing off, trying to get through screens, which is still expected. So my lateral movement is something I have to work on.”
Jennings expects to make the road trip Monday to Miami and Atlanta. He might even be in uniform. But he probably won’t be handed the reins to the second unit.
“I don’t think at this point I would play him ahead of Steve (Blake),” Van Gundy said.
Blake has been playing very well – he’s 12 of 22 from the 3-point line with averages of 6.9 points and 3.1 assists over his last eight games – and so has Van Gundy’s second unit in December.
“Our bench outplayed (Chicago’s in Friday’s four-overtime win),” he said. “That was a huge reason we were able to stay in that game and then eventually win it.”
So there’s no urgency to rush Jennings’ return until both coach and player are comfortable that the time is right for both player and team. But it was another encouraging step for Jennings on Saturday.
“I finally got all the nerves out,” he said. “I was nervous as hell yesterday. Felt like my first game ever playing. Once I made my first shot and threw it off the backboard (for an assist to Devin Ebanks), I was like, all right – all the jitters are gone. Definitely relief. Definitely a good opportunity for me to see where I’m at. I’ve still got to get better on the defensive end and things like that.”
Jennings wasn’t the only reason Van Gundy – who attended the game, as did Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson – came away from Grand Rapids pleased. Reggie Bullock and Darrun Hillard both had big games, each playing 36 minutes with Bullock scoring 29 points and Hilliard 23. Bullock hit 10 of 12 shots, including 6 of 8 from the 3-point line. Hilliard was 6 of 13 and 5 of 9 and also was 6 of 6 at the foul line.
“He was fantastic,” Van Gundy said of Bullock. “He played with great energy. He knocked down shots, played with great confidence. It was good to see he and Darrun, both got 36 minutes – that was good because we haven’t done much in practice. I looked at those two guys and was really, really happy.
“And also from a fans’ standpoint, it doesn’t mean everybody up there is going to drive down from Grand Rapids every night, but at least maybe it interests them more in turning on the TV and everything else. There’s no negatives to it. It’s great having it close by. It was a positive night for our franchise last night.”