Pistons center Isaiah Stewart will be out due to a Grade 1 calf strain and will be re-evaluated in a week, the team announced.
He may be out longer, with coach J.B. Bickerstaff refusing to put a timetable on his return, [according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press](https://x.com/omarisankofa/status/2033244660089397650?s=20).
_“It’s something he’s been dealing with. It just had been getting worse. He gutted it out last game and I think you could see he was favoring it late… It’s something we’re going to take time with.”_
Stewart has been one of the better defensive big men in the league this season and a key part of the Pistons’ second-ranked defense, plus he is averaging 10 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. He is absolutely in the mix for an All-Defensive team, but with this injury he may well not meet the 65-game threshold to qualify for a postseason award (he has played in 55 games, the Pistons have 15 games remaining). Some of the time he missed this season was due to a [seven-game suspension for leaving the bench](https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/pistons-isaiah-stewart-suspended-7-games-hornets-miles-bridges-and-moussa-diabate-4-games-for-brawl) during an on-court altercation between the Pistons and Hornets.
Expect this to mean more run for Paul Reed, who has averaged 13.9 points and 7.8 rebounds as a starter this season (eight games).