Detroit Pistons May Not Have Andre Drummond For Rest of Season

Injuries have riddled the Detroit Pistons lately, with none more significant than the problems for No. 1 draft pick Andre Drummond.

On Tuesday, Pistons doctors said they were pleased with his recovery from his back injury and he will be entering a second phase of rehabilitation and conditioning that would include, they said, a progression of basketball-related activities, whatever that means.

But they also said no timetable will be given on his return to game action. That most likely means that Drummond won’t be returning this season, which ends in mid-April for Detroit.

Its just as well since a winning record and playoff spot are both out of the picture. The Pistons need to get ready for what they hope will be a better 2013-14 NBA season.

Greg Monroe insists the Pistons have been handling the injury situation well on his team. But it hasn’t been an ideal situation.

On Monday, in a loss to the Utah Jazz, Jason Maxiell was out for Detroit and Brandon Knight went down early in the game, with both players dealing with injuries.

“It’s two of our starters and two guys that contribute, so to be down two men, it is tough,” Monroe said. ‘But like I said, the guys that played and stepped up did a great job and completed.”

“Especially with Jason Maxiell out and losing Brandon [Knight] right at the beginning of the game, being shorthanded I thought our guys did a great job,” said Brian Hill, assistant Pistons coach.

But, Hill would admit, it would be nice if Drummond, Maxiell and Knight were healthy and would stay healthy.