A few weeks ago, Reggie Bullock was legitimately concerned about having an NBA uniform to wear on opening night. He woke up this morning with the possibility that he’ll be in the Pistons starting lineup.
Crazy, huh?
When Kentavious Caldwell-Pope limped off in Wednesday’s first quarter after feeling pain in his left foot and was shut down for the night, Stan Van Gundy elected to fill his spot in the starting lineup with Bullock after halftime.
An MRI today revealed Caldwell-Pope had a sprained left foot – about the best possible news. He won’t play in Friday’s preseason finale, but Van Gundy said he’ll probably be back at practice over the weekend with the expectation he’ll be good to go for Tuesday’s season opener. But if it’s anything that flares up, it’s certainly possible Van Gundy will choose to keep Jodie Meeks in his customary role off the bench and start Bullock.
“He’s played really, really well,” Van Gundy said before Wednesday’s 99-94 loss to Charlotte. “He’s had as good a preseason as you could have.”
Bullock has scored efficiently, defended well and played virtually error-free basketball in his five preseason appearances, averaging nearly 20 minutes and 9.8 points a game on 60 percent shooting, 50 percent from the 3-point line.
“I’ve just got to stay with it. I just try to go in and do the things that Coach needs – that’s shooting and defense,” Bullock said after the Charlotte game. “I try to take those two things serious when I’m on the court and just try to knock down shots when I get the opportunity.”
Bullock is living proof that finding a niche in the NBA is largely about opportunity. The top 100 players or so could swap teams and have a role awaiting them; beyond that, there are talented players in every corner of the globe waiting to blend their set of skills with the right mix of teammates and system.
Bullock, the No. 25 pick in the 2013 draft who spent 11/2 seasons buried behind veteran Los Angeles Clippers wings as they were chasing an NBA title and a half-season getting acclimated in Phoenix, was part of the Suns’ package sent to the Pistons along with Marcus Morris as they looked to create cap space for a fruitless run at LaMarcus Aldridge.
He came to camp aware that the Pistons had 17 guaranteed contracts and a two-deep that didn’t include him at either shooting guard or small forward and admits the motivation is a little different when a job is on the line.
“When you read articles, you see your name thrown around in rumors and all that stuff,” Bullock said, shaking his head. “It’s all about me. I know what type of player I am. I know I’m a hard worker. I know that I’m a player that belongs in this league. It’s just all about opportunity for me.”
Bullock might also be a more logical candidate to start than Meeks because of his greater size – 6-foot-7, useful against the generally larger starters at shooting guard – and defensive bent. Van Gundy said before Wednesday’s game that the Pistons could well use as many as 11 players a game, at least initially. Bullock, presumably, would be in that group even if Caldwell-Pope’s MRI is clean and he starts at Atlanta next Tuesday, especially given what Van Gundy said he’d told the team.
“We’re looking for guys who help make our offense better,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who sort of try to get it on their own right now. We need more people who will just move the ball.”
Bullock probably wasn’t going to get in Wednesday’s game if not for Caldwell-Pope’s injury. Partly because Van Gundy needed to make decisions about those last few roster spots and also because he wanted to give Meeks enough minutes to get him up to speed, Caldwell-Pope hadn’t been getting his normal minutes in preseason, averaging 26 entering Wednesday. That was due to change in the final two preseason games. Yet when called on, Bullock was ready, scoring seven points on 3 of 5 shooting in 10 minutes.
“Just trying to stay ready, get in my workouts, do the things that Coach wants me to do,” he said. “My mindset when I come in the game is straight defense. If I get open shots, I’m going to try to knock them down. I’ve got the confidence to be able to knock them down, so my mindset is trying the defend the other team’s best player, try to make things tough for them. I’m not going to lock people down because they’re professionals, so I just try to make things tough for them and just try to play hard. If I can do that, there’s always a place for you to play basketball.”
Whatever uncertainty there was a few weeks ago where that might be, it’s pretty much evaporated today.
