Rod Beard

The Detroit News

Auburn Hills — The Detroit Pistons got good injury news about both of their Reggies on Saturday.

Starting point guard Reggie Jackson made his season debut Sunday night at against the Magic at The Palace, his first action since undergoing a procedure to inject platelet-rich plasma into his right thumb and left knee.

The initial timetable was six to eight weeks and Jackson made his return a day ahead of the eight-week mark.

The news with reserve wing Reggie Bullock wasn’t as much good news as it was a shorter timetable for his potential return from a meniscus tear in his left knee. Bullock had surgery Saturday morning to repair the meniscus and the outlook is four to six weeks.

“(Doctors) were not able to do a suture but they thought it went well cleaning it up,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. His timetable will be four to six weeks. That puts him back anywhere from the first of the year to the middle of (January).”

Van Gundy said team doctors would have preferred to do a suture to reattach the cartilage in the knee, but there wasn’t enough to work with in order to complete that type of procedure, which would have kept Bullock out about four months.

That would have been better for Bullock’s long-term outlook, but the surgery that was done will allow him to return this season without much issue.

The medical staff and Van Gundy will keep an eye on Jackson, though, to ensure that he’s not overdoing it, especially in the first few games back. He’ll be on a minutes restriction, likely around five minutes per quarter — around 20 minutes a game — and work his way up to a normal workload of about 30 minutes.

The Pistons started 11-10 without Jackson, including a perfect three-game road sweep last week, with wins at Charlotte, Boston and Atlanta. Ish Smith, who started every game at point guard, posted 10.8 points and 6.4 assists. With Jackson’s return, Smith will assume the backup role and Beno Udrih will be the third option.

“He’s played really well, but he knew coming in exactly what the situation was,” Van Gundy said of Smith. “It wasn’t anything hidden from him or anything. It’s never easy. No one likes to go to the bench, particularly when they’re playing as well as he is, but that’s the way it is.

Sluggish 2nd sinks Pistons in Jackson's return

“We all knew this was coming and everybody will just have to adjust.”

Jackson’s return is a boost, but with the Pistons playing some of their best basketball of the season, it’s an even bigger shot in the arm. But Van Gundy and the rest of the staff are going to be careful about the workload and not try to put too much on him.

“His wind and his stamina will limit his minutes as much as anything, and excitement,” Van Gundy said.

More work needed

The Pistons’ defense had improved over the course of the past couple weeks, with their field-goal defense ranking third in the league. It’s been a work in progress after a tough start and some ups and downs in between, but Van Gundy still isn’t satisfied.

“We’ve put a lot of time in on our defense. These guys have worked at it and they’re buying in to that that’s our ticket to being consistently good,” Van Gundy said. “We haven’t gotten there in games to where we’re consistently really good but we’re making a great effort.

“We struggled mightily in the Boston game and didn’t defend well at all. I don’t think it was a lack of effort; we just have to get better still.”

They also rank second in defensive rating (102.9) and fifth in defensive 3-point percentage (34 percent) but are looking to take more strides.

Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com

Twitter @detnewsRodBeard