SVG suggests Jackson could be shut down for season

The Detroit Pistons continue to sputter badly down the stretch, and there's a chance they may decide to pack in their point guard early.

Reggie Jackson has had a tough season, culminating recently in losing his starting job to Ish Smith. Then on Monday, he didn't play in Detroit's loss to the New York Knicks. Coach Stan Van Gundy said afterward that Jackson is still hampered by the left knee tendinitis that cost him the first 21 games of the season.

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"Look, we've been thinking about this for a long time, okay, and he's been playing ... at probably at about 80 percent," Van Gundy told FOX Sports Detroit. "The other part of it is we're at a point in the year where we were really struggling and we just need to have guys who are at full energy ... as much as he wants to, he can't right now."

When asked if Jackson could be shut down for the remainder of the season, Van Gundy replied: "Well we don't know. We don't know."

The Pistons are 1.5 games out of a playoff spot in the East with eight games remaining. Van Gundy said he doesn't expect Jackson to play Tuesday against the Miami Heat, meaning his earliest return would be Thursday vs. the Brooklyn Nets.

"He needs some rest, we don't know how long it's going to be," Van Gundy said.