Detroit Pistons: 3 reasons to be thankful

3. Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson‘s health

Coming into the season, one of the biggest storylines to watch for this team was the health of Griffin and Reggie Jackson. Both of them have had well-documented issues with staying healthy over the past several seasons. Thus far, they’ve both remained completely healthy, and Griffin is actually first on the team in minutes played. The offense runs through Griffin, and his health is imperative to their success.

It’s unlikely that Griffin will play all 82 games this season, but that’s also an unreasonable expectation for a player like him. If he were able to keep up this level of play over a full season, this would be one of the best years of his career. He’s on pace to have the third-best box plus/minus of his career, while also averaging a career-high in points per game. Griffin needed to stay healthy to get better, and he’s done that in this small sample so far.

Jackson started the year with an increased shooting touch from 3-point range, which was a very welcome sight after struggling so much in that area in his career. He has also been a popular name in trade talks for the Pistons in their quest to regain additional cap flexibility. If he weren’t healthy though, they would be unable to trade him for his full value. While they’re healthy, be thankful for it.