Brandon Jennings was in the midst of a hot streak last season with the Detroit Pistons, including a game with 20 points and 20 assists, until he tore his Achilles. Jennings ended up missing the last 41 games of the season due to that injury and might have possibly lost his starting spot for this season as well. Despite possibly coming off the bench, Jennings reportedly believes the rehab is going well and hopes to be ready for the start of the season, according to The Detroit News.
Jennings appears to be very optimistic about being ready for the Pistons first game, but head coach Stan Van Gundy doesn't share that optimism - at least not yet.
"Again, it is hard to tell until he can actually start doing anything, the doctors will tell you he is on pace, but for a coach, until you actually see him on the court and see a progression of what he can do, you have no idea," said Van Gundy.
Jennings is entering the final year of his three-year contract and is reportedly going to be coming off the bench this season. The big move made by the Pistons this offseason was re-signing Reggie Jackson to a huge deal for him to be their starting point guard. Jackson had never been a starting point guard before being traded to the Pistons last season, and Jennings has always been a starter so it appears their roles will be reversed this year.
Jennings could play shooting guard and start there, but that is very unlikely because that would leave the starting backcourt with two defensive liabilities. Jennings and Jackson are both known as guys that are score-first point guards, with Jackson being the more efficient of the two. Jennings is the better three-point shooter, but Jackson can get to the hole and showed in his short stint in Detroit last season that he can also facilitate.
Jennings has been a disappointment in his NBA career so far after being the number one college recruit in 2008. Still just 25 years old, Jennings' career shooting percentage is below 40 percent. He does have career averages of 16.6 points and 6.2 assists per game, but he is an incredibly inefficient scorer which is likely why he is now behind Jackson on the depth chart.
Jennings should bring a lot of firepower off the Pistons bench this year assuming he is ready to start the season, as is being reported. Even though they let Greg Monroe walk in free agency this year, the Pistons should be a much improved team and will likely compete for a playoff spot, but Jennings' health is a key factor for them.
