DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons (1-1) will continue to be without veteran Caris LeVert and third-year guard Marcus Sasser as they make their home debut on Sunday against the Boston Celtics.
The pair were absent for much of preseason before Sasser (hip) missed the first two games of the regular season and LeVert (hamstring) missed Friday’s game against the Houston Rockets.
Ahead of Sunday afternoon’s game, coach J.B. Bickerstaff confirmed they were still yet to be ready to return to the court, but have returned to some activity out on the court.
“They’re both progressing. It’s just going to be a matter of time, how they respond,” Bickerstaff said.
“They’re both doing stuff on the floor, but we always just have to wait and see how the next day is and make sure that we can stack continuous days of them getting better. And that’s where they are right now. So the plan’s in place and we’ll get them out there, obviously, as soon as they’re healthy.”
LeVert played 21 minutes in the season-opener against the Bulls, scoring eight points on 3-of-7 shooting with two assists a steal and a rebound.
The 10-year veteran signed with the Pistons over the offseason, reuniting with his former Cleveland Cavaliers coach in Bickerstaff. LeVert’s flexibility on the court figures to give him plenty of chances to get involved upon his return, particularly given the absence of guard Jaden Ivey.
Sasser is entering his third season in the NBA, playing primarily off the bench as a backup point guard to Cade Cunningham since joining the Pistons out of Houston.
In 57 games last season, Sasser averaged 6.6 points and 2.3 assists on 46.3% shooting from the field.
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