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Tough times test Jackson, settling in as a leader as Pistons experience growing pains

Reggie Jackson’s low point last season came in his 11th game with the Pistons. It occurred during the last game of his first Western Conference road swing. He finished with 10 points, shooting 4 of 11, zero assists and five turnovers, getting pulled when he didn’t hustle back over frustration caused by one of those turnovers. The Pistons lost to Utah and came home on a 10-game losing streak.

The parallels to Sunday night’s loss to the Lakers are striking. His low point of the season came in the 10th game, again on the last stop of a Western Conference road trip. Jackson finished with nine points, shooting the same 4 of 11 he did at Utah, three assists and, again, five turnovers. He was pulled in the fourth quarter after a stretch that saw him commit three turnovers and fire an air ball while attempting a wildly difficult shot.

The way Jackson responded to last year’s low point: He came home and recorded a 20-20 game – 23 points, 20 assists – as the Pistons upset Memphis. It began the sensational finishing kick to Jackson’s season, when he averaged nearly 20 points, 11 assists and five rebounds while shooting just a shade under 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point arc.

How he responds to this low point – one week to the day after his sensational 40-point night, topped by a 26-point fourth quarter to spark a rally that saw the Pistons come from 17 down to win at Portland – will go a long way toward cementing his leadership role with this team.

He scored points in the downcast locker room after Sunday’s 97-85 loss to the Lakers for taking questions – players can and often do avoid interviews after nights like the kind Jackson experienced – and for shouldering the blame.

“I played too poorly, probably, for us to get over the hump,” Jackson said. “Dug us a hole. It’s kind of hard to battle back when your starting point guard plays that bad.”

The Pistons are made up of so many new faces – seven of the 15 players are new to the roster this season and three others weren’t with the team when Stan Van Gundy opened training camp last season – and are so young in their starting lineup that leadership, like their chemistry and their offense, is evolving.

But Jackson – by virtue of the position he plays and the stature that comes with signing an $80 million contract in the off-season – almost has to be a prominent part of it. And it’s something he’s opnely embraced.

“He’s a vocal guy, a very positive guy, someone you enjoy being around, which is important,” said the senior Piston in terms of NBA service, 13-year veteran Steve Blake. “It’s our job as point guards to set the tone. Just like when our bench was struggling, I took that upon myself. I put that on me. I think he’s definitely got those qualities that we need for him to be leading us out there.”

Blake, Anthony Tolliver and Joel Anthony are the only Pistons 30 or older and all come off the bench. The oldest starter is Ersan Ilyasova, 28. Jackson is 25 but this was the first season of his career he entered as a starter, serving as Russell Westbrook’s backup in Oklahoma City his first 3½ seasons.

Tolliver’s combination of experience and natural ease at speaking up makes him the player most of his teammates mention first as a leader. But he’s encouraged by what he sees from Jackson and his younger teammates. Jackson’s is the first name Tolliver mentions as leaders emerging from the young core.

“Reggie for sure. He’s already started. He’s the most vocal out of the starters and has been since he’s been here,” Tolliver said. “He’s a definite leader in the making. Him being a point guard, you automatically have a certain amount of leadership. He’s already started the process of being more vocal and it’s up to us to help him, as well. Help him develop into more of a leader, learn how to talk to people. We have a lot of different personalities in the locker room. You have to know how to talk to people and how they’re going to respond to certain things. That’s all a process and stuff you learn over time.”

The fact the Pistons have much more experience on their bench than in their starting lineup could make for an awkward dynamic, but Tolliver credits the starters for their openness to advice.

“For me, it’s about respect. Even though the young guys are playing more than I am or more than Steve Blake is, when we speak, they listen,” Tolliver said. “And Joel (Anthony) as well. When he says something, guys listen. They know that we’ve been successful in this league. We’ve been to the playoffs. Joel’s won championships. Our young guys are really good about listening. Even though sometimes it’s usually the people who play more who are the leaders, they respect us.”

Blake has seen about as much as a player could over his NBA career, playing for eight franchises and being traded six times. He’s not given to locker-room oratory, but it’s a measure of the respect he engenders that the NBA.com annual poll of general managers recently released named Blake No. 3 among present players destined to become successful coaches.

“It’s a work in progress,” Blake said of Pistons leadership. “Really, it’s coming from a lot of different directions. From Coach, of course, helping lead us. Different guys on the court, just by example – playing hard. Anthony Tolliver is a very vocal guy off the bench. It’s kind of by committee right now. On a lot of teams, you’ll say this guy is our leader. We’re doing it by being together. And I think that’s OK.”

Van Gundy thinks so, too.

“We’re a young group and the leadership is shared and should be shared,” he said before Sunday’s loss, prolonging the season’s first bit of adversity after the Pistons opened 5-1. “I think that’s fine.”

The process of their chemistry setting and leadership emerging won’t happen soon enough for Van Gundy’s liking, but when he allows himself to step back for a minute he’s encouraged by the direction things are headed.

“I really like the guys that we have in the locker room now,” he said. “I think that’s the most important thing. It’s a process that, quite honestly, is tough for me because I’m not a very patient guy. I know it’s a building process. At the same time, I want to win every game we play.”