The Pistons have a glut of point guards now that Brandon Jennings is healthy. Pistons coach/president Stan Van Gundy is so stacked, he didn’t get around to playing Jennings until Tuesday night, when he made his season debut against the Knicks after tearing his Achilles last season.
Jennings, after dressing but not playing for three straight games, played 16:44 and scored seven points with four assists in the loss. Ironically, it was a bigger night for maligned Knicks point guard Jose Calderon (15 points, 5-of-6, four assists).
Despite Calderon’s one-night surge, the Knicks are interested in another point guard for the roster. There’s obvious interest in a player of Jennings’ level. The Knicks already bypassed him once — in the 2010 draft, selecting Jordan Hill.
Jennings will be a free agent this July, and it’s clear the Pistons are going to war with Reggie Jackson for the next few years. Current backup Steve Blake has played well, too.
“I’m not really worried about contracts,’’ Jennings said. “I’m just worried about getting into the flow of basketball. My first game back, hopefully I’ll be blessed to play rest of season with no injuries.’’
Jennings ripped the Knicks for bypassing him in the draft, so he clearly wanted the New York environment.
“Madison Square Garden is one of the most famous arenas around in the world,’’ Jennings said. “The electricity and energy is always high.”
Van Gundy said his point-guard glut is no conundrum.
“I’ve never had a problem with having too many good players,’’ Van Gundy said. “It’s something I‘ve never been bothered by.’’
Nevertheless, Van Gundy didn’t talk as if Jennings is part of the long-term future when asked if he’s still a starter in this league.
Perhaps looking to up his trade value, Van Gundy said: “I don’t think there’s any doubt Brandon is coming back well off the injury. He loves to play and be in the gym. He’s still young at 26. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll be a starting point guard in this league again.’’
Coach Derek Fisher was a lot more chatty when speaking about fixing Phil Jackson’s triangle offense than he was the other controversy he’s embroiled in — the Matt Barnes affair.
Barnes was suspended two games by the NBA on Monday for fighting Fisher during a love-triangle quarrel in Los Angeles during training camp. Fisher was exonerated.
“The NBA did their investigation, made a decision,” he said. “I don’t know if anything to say on my feelings. They made a decision. That’s it. It doesn’t register with me.’’
The Knicks coach also addressed whether Jackson has been more involved in coaches’ film sessions this season in keeping with a late-September promise.
“It hasn’t been an exorbitant change,’’ Fisher said. “We talk normally as we have in terms of emails and mornings before practices. He comes in and sits and watches practice. He’s still done a really good job of letting me know and letting us know what his observations are. He hasn’t overly come into the film sessions to try to do more. I think it’s been good. He’s included more people in the conversation in terms on what we’re talking about as a group. I think the balance has been good.’’
Asked about what he meant by including more people in his circle, Fisher said, “We’re all talking about the team and how to improve it. It’s becoming an organizational effort to turn this thing around. With a little bit of early success, the excitement had grown, and maybe expectations had grown. But reality is we’re very much a work in progress in where we are right now. That doesn’t mean we’re not capable of doing things right now.’’
Pistons center Andre Drummond could prevent Carmelo Anthony from making his seventh straight All-Star Game start, but he was stifled Tuesday with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Drummond was third in the voting among Eastern Conference frontcourt players. Anthony was fourth, but trailing by only 80,000 votes in the first wave of voting released on Christmas Day. Van Gundy said Drummond may be the best rebounder in the game.
“The All-Star voting quite honestly I don’t follow,’’ Van Gundy said. “I think he’s certainly an All-Star-caliber center.’’
Looking for his first All-Star berth, Drummond is averaging 18.3 points and 16.3 rebounds.