Pistons Will Receive Big Bench Boost vs. Magic

For the fourth and final time this year, the Detroit Pistons will battle it out with the Orlando Magic on Sunday night. With both teams having clear injury reports, the Pistons will benefit from getting a young reserve back into the rotation.

Lately, the rookie guard Marcus Sasser has dealt with a knee-related setback. In a matchup against the Indiana Pacers, Sasser suffered a knee contusion. He finished the game with nine points in just ten minutes of action.

Although he was initially on pace to face the Magic last weekend, Sasser was downgraded to questionable on the injury report due to knee soreness. When the Pistons submitted their final decision, they ruled out the young guard for the matchup. 

The Pistons were going to roll without Sasser for at least a week. As the team approached its road matchup against the New York Knicks, Sasser was ruled out with an initial timeline of one week before a re-evaluation.

Detroit kept the young guard off the court over the next two matchups against the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although the initial expectation was for Sasser to sit out against the Magic as well, the rookie saw his playing status upgraded to probable before the matchup.

As it turns out, Sasser will make his return to the court to face the Magic on Sunday night. It will mark his first game since February 22.

Dating back to the start of the new year, Sasser appeared in 21 games off the bench for the Pistons. Collecting about 16 minutes per outing, Sasser has produced eight points and four assists while knocking down 44 percent of his threes during that stretch.

Sunday’s game will mark the third time he’ll face the Magic in his young career. With just 15 total minutes in the first two outings, Sasser averaged five found and three assists. He made four of his seven shots off the bench in those games.