Marvin Bagley III avoids serious injury after scary moment during preseason game

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In the first minute of a preseason game on Tuesday night in Detroit, Bagley took a scary fall, where he seemed to have slipped and twisted awkwardly on a wet spot while back-pedaling down the court on defense. He had to be helped off the floor, which was a bad look for the severity of the injury.

The injury took the wind out of the sails of all of Pistons nation at the moment as everyone was excited about what Bagley brings to this young Pistons team. Luckily for Bagley and the Pistons, an MRI of his knee on Wednesday confirmed some good news that the injury was not too serious and will only keep him out of action for 3-4 weeks.

Marvin Bagley III’s career has been full of various highs and lows thus far. However, the former second-overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2017 draft seems to have found a place to call home for the time being after being traded by Sacramento to Detroit. After playing well in the second half of the season for the Pistons, Detroit resigned Bagley in the offseason to a three-year, $37 million contract.

This is a big season coming up for not just the Pistons organization but Bagley individually. It is great to see that he was able to avoid significant injury, and he will get back out there in just a few weeks to contribute in a similar way to what he did when he joined Detroit last season.

For Detroit, the challenge will now come with figuring out the frontcourt rotation for the first month or so of the season until Bagley is able to return to the court. Fans would hope that this opening in the frontcourt could mean minutes for rookie big man Jalen Duren, but realistically, veteran big man and offseason acquisition Nerlens Noel will most likely see the bulk of Bagley’s minutes in the rotation until he is ready to return.