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Brandon Jennings' only appearance with the Detroit Pistons came in the preseason opener vs. Maccabi Haifa, when he had 15 points and five steals.

(AP File Photo)

AUBURN HILLS – Point guard Brandon Jennings won't know if he'll be able to make his Detroit Pistons debut Sunday night until shortly before game time at The Palace.

Jennings, who has been sidelined since Oct. 10 with an impacted wisdom tooth and hairline jaw fracture, went through a light practice Saturday in preparation of hopefully suiting up Sunday against the Boston Celtics.

"At this point, I really don't know," said Jennings, who played in just one preseason game, scoring 15 points and getting five steals in a 91-69 win over Maccabi Haifa. "I think it's a game-time decision.

"It's really difficult for me. The only time I've ever been set back was when I broke my foot my second year and I was out for like 20 games. To miss opening night, that was definitely a bummer for me. The crowd was crazy and the atmosphere was unbelievable."

Jennings, who was acquired in an off-season trade with Milwaukee, has been taking part in non-contact drills during practice while wearing a protective mask. Saturday's workout gave him one last chance to prepare for a possible Detroit debut but not all of the Pistons were on the court with him.

The Pistons five starters played at least 32 minutes in Friday's 111-108 overtime loss in Memphis and the front line of Andre Drummond, Josh Smith and Greg Monroe all played 40-plus minutes.

So coach Maurice Cheeks gave some of the players a breather Saturday and allowed them to watch film while the reserves helped work out Jennings.

Cheeks said the practice wasn't held specifically to prepare Jennings for the Celtics.

"We were going to watch some film anyways," he said. "We watched some film and let some guys who haven't been playing (get a chance) to play and let Brandon get a little (workout). We didn't really practice with those guys. But he still got some up and down.

"We'll see about tomorrow. I'm not sure."

If Jennings does play, how much time he sees is also a question mark. He's lost some weight because his jaw is wired shut and he's only able to eat soft foods.

So Cheeks doesn't know how much stamina Jennings will have until he gets into an actual game.

"We don't have to leave him out there a long time," Cheeks said. "We can throw him out there and let him play a little bit and see how he feels. Get him in and out."

Regardless of Jennings' status, Chauncey Billups and Will Bynum will likely be the Pistons' starting guards.

When he does return, Jennings will have to get more accustomed to playing with the Rip Hamilton-like mask he's been wearing to protect his jaw and there's no telling yet how long he's going to need it.

"It's very uncomfortable," Jennings said. "I'm not used to having injures so I don't really know how to play with having something on, especially my face. Knee pads, anything like that. It doesn't affect my vision.

"Once I get sweaty, once sweat gets into it, it moves around a little bit. So I'm always having to fix it up. It's just something I'll have to get used to."

Jennings has been undergoing laser treatments to try and speed up the healing process.

"There's no pain," he said. "It's just a process. When you have a broken jaw, you just can't come right back. I'm eating everything I can. Eating soft food right now."

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