Detroit Pistons likely to shut down Reggie Jackson for the season

The Detroit Pistons (34-41) are likely to shut down point guard Reggie Jackson for the remainder of the NBA regular season, per reports. With the Pistons still two-and-a-half games behind the eighth-seeded Miami Heat (36-38), coach Stan Van Gundy is contemplating resting Jackson for the final seven games of the season.

Jackson, who has been dealing with left knee issues for most of the season, sat out of back-to-back home defeats against the New York Knicks on Monday (109-95) and the Miami Heat on Tuesday (97-96), and is unlikely to return to this court this season. “We don’t know, we really don’t know. I don’t anticipate him going (Tuesday against the Miami Heat), and that’ll take him to four days (without taking the court). He did practice yesterday, and then we’ll see (how he feels) on Thursday," Van Gundy said after Monday's defeat to the Knicks, via ESPN.

The Pistons have been dealing with injury issues for most of the season. Jackson missed the first 21 games while rehabilitating from platelet-rich plasma injections, following which his troublesome knee caused him to miss games at regular intervals. “We’ve been thinking about this (shutting him down) for a long time. It’s hard to put a percentage, but he’s been playing at probably about 80 percent, and as we get into this stretch of games in March where we’re playing a lot, the fatigue is making it worse,” added Van Gundy.

Will Pistons revisit Reggie Jackson trade in the summer?

Prior to last month's NBA Trade Deadline, there was significant chatter about a potential Reggie Jackson trade for Ricky Rubio, the point guard of the Minnesota Timberwolves. There were also reports of Pistons revisiting the trade during the offseason. "The thing we look forward to is getting a fresh start in the offseason and being able to go through the preparation for a season like he did last year. Not only get right physically but really get his confidence back to be able to attack and make plays, like he did last summer when he came in really ready to go," said Van Gundy, who doubles up as president of basketball operations.

Reggie Jackson is averaging 14.5 points, 5.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds in his sixth NBA season. A year ago, Jackson nearly made the All-Star team for a breakout season that saw him average 18.8 points and 6.2 assists.