The Detroit Pistons are bound to finish yet another disappointing season, out of the playoffs for the third time in Stan Van Gundy's four-year run as head coach and president of basketball operations.
Yet the emergence of Reggie Bullock, along with the health of a different Reggie Jackson are enough to give star forward Blake Griffin enough encouragement about his future with the team.
“Having Reggie and Andre and a full group healthy and ready to go, I like our squad — we have a pretty high ceiling and we can make a run in the East,” said Griffin, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
Griffin has a 50/50 chance to play after he misses tonight's game against the Dallas Mavericks, yet he remains eager to take the court before the end of the season after dealing with a bone bruise in his right ankle.
“That was first question: Is this something I can play through?,” said Griffin. “Our doctors felt strongly that this wasn’t something that I should push because with a little bit of rest, I’d be fine.”
“If you come back too soon or push too much, it becomes a longer thing. This shouldn’t be that long. I’ve had to sit out my fair share of games and I hate sitting out; it’s not fun by any means.”
The promise for this core has been there all along, but Griffin might just be the missing piece to put it all together once he gets a full training camp under his belt. The high-ceiling is clear, having won seven of the last nine games with Jackson back in full health. Nevertheless, the Pistons' full potential will greatly rely on the ability to keep this roster healthy, as injuries have proved to plague Detroit at the wrong time.
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