After jumping out to a 40-19 lead after the first quarter, the Detroit Pistons cruised to a 24-point victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, they lost starting point guard Reggie Jackson to an ugly looking ankle injury in the process.
Jackson landed awfully wrong on his right ankle in the third quarter and went down in serious pain. He was helped to the locker room at did not return to the game. Now, following an MRI, the Pistons have announced that Jackson suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain, and will be out for at least six to eight weeks. That timeline means he'll likely be out until at least the All-Star break.
This is a tough blow for the Pistons, as it's never great to lost your starting point guard for 6-8 weeks. However, it might not be as bad of a setback as you might think initially.
For one, Jackson has been inconsistent this season, and has not been playing well in December. In 13 games this month, he's averaging 12.9 points and 4.8 assists, while shooting just 41.1 percent from the field, and 25.5 percent from downtown.
And in addition, the Pistons have better net ratings with Ish Smith and Langston Galloway -- who figure to take over the point guard duties -- on the floor than Jackson this season.
Pistons' net rating when each of the three players are on the court. Via stats.NBA.com:
Player | OFFRTG | DEFTRG | NETRTG |
Reggie Jackson | 105.8 | 107 | -1.3 |
Ish Smith | 102.8 | 101.8 | 1 |
Langston Galloway | 106.4 | 92.3 | 14.1 |
Of course, there are a number of various factors that go into such data. And expectations, teammates, opponents, and situations change will change for Smith and Galloway now that they have to take on an increased workload.
Still with each player having played at least 438 minutes so far this season, this is a pretty good indication that Jackson's absence won't be debilitating for the Pistons.
