NEW ORLEANS – Buried in the rubble of a game the Pistons would rather forget came something worth remembering, perhaps.
In his 12th game since returning from an 11-month absence while he rehabilitated an injury some feared might leave him a greatly diminished player, Brandon Jennings showed some of the head-wagging, up-on-his-toes bounce that has marked his best since he entered the NBA as a teen.
He might not be all the way back and it might not be around the next corner, but he’s seen – and shown – enough to make both himself and observers feel it’s coming, sooner or later.
“My foot actually felt great today,” Jennings said after scoring 20 points during the 115-99 loss at New Orleans. “That was a real surprise. This is the best it’s ever felt tonight (since) before the injury. For me to just be moving and running, it felt great.”
Sunday will mark the one-year anniversary of Jennings falling to the floor at Milwaukee, where he spent his first four NBA seasons, and looking over his shoulder to see who’d kicked him – the tell-tale sign of an Achilles tear.
Stan Van Gundy likes what he’s seeing from Jennings, especially the way he picks up the tempo for a second unit that’s recently proven a very nice complement to the NBA’s most stable starting five over the season’s first half.
“I think he’s played pretty well and our team, for the most part, has played well with him on the court, because of the way he pushes the ball and moves the ball and everything else,” Van Gundy said. “I’ve been happy with him.”
But Van Gundy doesn’t yet see the same explosion in Jennings – the straight-line blur of motion or the whip-quick change of direction.
“I think it’ll take him until probably next year, to be quite honest, to be back to where he was,” he said. “I don’t think he’s at 100 percent physically and I would think the 100 percent will come as he gets into training camp next fall. Not only are you coming back off injury, but you miss 30-plus games and you missed all of the summer. It takes time to get back into it. I think he’s healthy and feels good, but to have all that quickness, it’ll take more time.”
That Jennings’ confidence is growing as he puts more games behind him is evident in the way he’s quicker to pull the trigger for open jump shots now compared to his first handful of games back. His shooting percentages are still down -- .387 overall, .316 from the 3-point line – but creeping up, as are his averages, now at 7.4 points and 3.5 assists in 17-plus minutes.
The comeback at Memphis last week, spoiled when the NBA admitted after the fact it missed a foul call that would have sent Marcus Morris to the foul line to put the Pistons ahead with about eight seconds to play, was maybe the first time Jennings gave multiple glimpses of his quickness and swagger.
“At first I was just being more passive, just trying to find guys, but I’m definitely going to be more aggressive now coming out with the second unit,” Jennings said. “Not necessarily scoring, but pushing it, making plays and trying to find things. Because the second unit hasn’t been that great the last couple of games, so it’s important, with me as a point guard, I’ve got to get guys going.”
“Since he’s come back, it’s been a major emphasis for us in terms of getting better ball movement, getting better pace in our offense,” Van Gundy said. “I think Brandon’s been very conscientious to try to do both. He’s trying to push the ball and he’s trying to create an atmosphere out there of where the ball moves and everybody’s playing very unselfishly.”
Van Gundy is sympathetic to the challenges facing Jennings that go beyond returning from injury after a prolonged absence and jumping into the fray at mid-season.
“I think it’s hard. I don’t think he’s back to where he was. If he’s comparing himself to where he was a year ago, yeah, because there’s a lot of things. There’s the injury, there’s missing time, there’s a new role coming off the bench. He’s playing with – other than (Anthony) Tolliver – all guys he’s never played with. There’s so many things that make it difficult. But he’s doing a good job.”
With the anniversary bearing down on him, Jennings said he felt not even a twinge of pain in his foot in his 20-point game at New Orleans.
“My leg felt really good,” he said. “My ankle just felt real loose. I knew from the jump I was ready to go because my ankle felt just better than ever.”
Maybe 100 percent won’t get here fast enough to suit him. But if the progress he’s made in his first month back repeats itself over the next two, the Pistons are going to have a pretty nice little off-the-bench weapon for the playoff stretch drive.