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Minor injuries nag Pistons and leave SVG with only Dinwiddie at point likely for preseason opener

Tuesday’s preseason opener probably isn’t going to go the way Stan Van Gundy might have envisioned it playing out when the Pistons opened training camp a week ago. Looks like there’s a good chance they’ll have only one player with any meaningful experience playing point guard available.

With Brandon Jennings at least several weeks away from returning from Achilles tendon repair, Steve Blake going through the NBA concussion protocol and Reggie Jackson headed for a precautionary MRI after Monday’s practice to address Achilles tendon soreness, Spencer Dinwiddie is the last man standing at point guard.

“The biggest problem is we have four point guards on the roster and we had one in practice today,” Van Gundy said. “It makes practice tough.”

Van Gundy was pleased – almost out-of-character pleased – with the first three days of training camp before an assortment of minor injuries derailed progress.

Aron Baynes stepped on Joel Anthony’s foot and tweaked his surgically repaired ankle. After sitting out Saturday’s public scrimmage at The Palace, Baynes began but didn’t finish Monday’s practice. Van Gundy called it “a step forward” for Baynes.

Adonis Thomas, like Jackson, was headed for an MRI on his own painful Achilles tendon.

Van Gundy hasn’t wasted any time pondering the lineup for Tuesday’s opener with Indiana (7:30 p.m. at The Palace, live streamed on Pistons.com) because … well, he’s not sure who’ll be in uniform.

“First I’ve got to come in here tomorrow and figure out who’s going to be here,” he said. “That would be step number one. I don’t really know who’s going to be available. I know Spencer is going to be available. Jodie (Meeks), (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), Marcus (Morris), Andre (Drummond), Joel (Anthony). Those guys have not had anything. They’re all fine to go. Everybody else has at least got a little something. We’ll wait and see.”

Van Gundy mentioned rookies Darrun Hilliard and Stanley Johnson and Meeks as players who’ll soak up some emergency minutes at point guard against the Pacers to rest Dinwiddie.

“Nobody’s got anything serious at this point, other than Brandon. You’re not worried about it,” he said. “The only thing that’s a little frustrating is practice. I thought we did a really, really good job with our defensive work today, but the offensive work was … it’s just difficult when you’ve only got one point guard out there. Guys are playing out of position. You’re playing rookies who are just trying to learn the league and now you’re giving them a different position to play. It’s not smooth, to say the least.”

Blake, with 12 NBA seasons behind him and known for his basketball IQ, can afford to miss time without it setting him back. The problem is the cost in time for a team that can’t go forward with the getting-to-know-you process necessary for a rotation likely to feature five first-year Pistons.

“He’ll pick it up quick – and he’s smart. That part’s not a problem,” Van Gundy said. “Same with Reggie. He’s going to pick stuff up. It’s just really tough – especially on the offensive end – to develop any kind of chemistry and flow. I thought we made progress through the first three days and now, days four, five and six, from an offensive standpoint, have been difficult. So it’s frustrating. There’s nothing you can do about it, so that’s where we are.”

Van Gundy, who said he was a major proponent of the NBA’s adoption of a defined concussion protocol, told Blake to make sure he was fully healed before worrying about a return.

“I called Steve on Saturday. He said, ‘I’ll try to get back as soon as I can.’ I say, hey, look, you’ve got to get it right,” Van Gundy said. “You do with any injury. I’ve never been a guy getting down on guys not playing. But if you have an ankle or something like that, you get back as quick as you can and try to play. But your brain’s a whole different matter. That’s the rest of your life. I think we’ve learned now that you don’t mess around with that.”