You can tell by the commentary at the end of this video: the Pistons commentators are fully aware that Reggie Jackson has sucked for the better part of the last three seasons, and they’re desperate for the return of “vintage” Reggie Jackson, whatever that is. And you can see why they would be so wistful for those times long gone: the current iteration of Reggie Jackson just isn’t very good. At all.
Through nine games, he’s shooting 35% from the field and 32% from three (on seven attempts per game, even though he was, at his peak, only an average three-point shooter). His assists are also down to career-low levels, although that could be attributed to him occasionally sharing the court with a “truer” PG like Jose Calderon. Remember the assist-happy Reggie that materialized in the immediate wake of his trade from OKC? That Reggie is long gone and I don’t think he’s coming back, people.
The past few seasons have been marred by the din of restless Pistons fans crowing about how they would be a lot better if they had a healthy Reggie Jackson and didn’t have to play Ish Smith so much. Well, now they have a healthy Reggie Jackson, and they’re the same mediocre selves. They also incessantly reminded us that they would be a lot better if Stan Van Gundy wasn’t making bad roster decisions and creating illogical rotations. Well, now they have COTY of the Year Dwane Casey and they still only look like an average team. Hmm.