Brandon Jennings suffers minor setback, could be back in three weeks
A cyst behind Brandon Jennings' knee could set the Pistons' point guard back a day or two in his recovery from a torn Achilles' tendon.
By
Zach Harper
•
1 min read
We haven't seen Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings on an NBA court since Jan. 24 when he ruptured his Achilles' tendon. Jennings was enjoying a bit of a revival under Stan Van Gundy following the waiving of Josh Smith, and starting to play some of the best basketball of his career. But one bad step ended his season and has kept him out ever since.
Jennings began practicing again nearly a month ago, and is working toward a return to real game action. However, according to Stan Van Gundy, that comeback has hit a minor setback with the development of a Baker's cyst behind his knee. It should set him back a day or two, but he still needs to get into game shape and could be back in about three weeks.
#Pistons SVG says Brandon Jennings has a Baker's cyst behind his knee, but it should only set Jennings back a day or two.
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) December 4, 2015
#Pistons SVG reiterated that Brandon Jennings is not in game shape yet; rehab would have him back in about 3 more weeks.
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) December 4, 2015
A Baker's cyst is more inconvenience than it is serious. It forms when the joint fluid builds up and is pushed into one of the small sacs of tissue located behind the knee. It's not a painful thing, but does create stiffness in the knee.
The injury to Jennings ultimately led to the Pistons acquiring Reggie Jackson at the trade deadline. They gave Jackson a five-year, $80 million as a restricted free agent this offseason, making him their definite starter at the position moving forward. Jennings is in the final year of a three-year, $24 million. Following Smith's subtraction from the team and prior to Jennings' injury, the point guard was averaging 19.8 points and 7.0 assists in 28.3 minutes over a 16-game stretch. He was shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from deep.
You can't expect Jennings to bounce back to that production or anything close immediately coming off of such a serious injury. But if he can work his way back to being a consistently productive player, he'd add a great weapon to a Pistons' second unit that has struggled with their guard play.
