Been down since I began to crawl
If it wasn’t for bad luck
You know, I wouldn’t have no luck at all

-Born Under a Bad Sign by Albert King, made famous by Cream

Pistons may want to think about this as a fight song.

During the 3rd quarter of an already lovely game against his old team on Saturday night, Brandon Jennings had one of those moments you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. A non-contact, cringe-worthy collapse and what we would learn is a fully ruptured Achilles tendon.

Jennings has been a major part of this monster turnaround the Pistons were mounting, so this one feels like the air going out of a balloon that just took off. The 25 year old whose development has fast-tracked lately was playing some good ball. His improved shot selection and court vision had him looking like a top tier PG, as evidenced by that nice 3.02 Assist/Turnover ratio. Make no mistake, this injury will likely keep the Pistons out of the playoffs even in the Division II Eastern Conference. Without a spark-plug at the point, the bulky offense will grind to a cringing, earsplitting halt. Think Smart Bus at a yellow light. So yeah, optimism for this season has collapsed in a heap. Further down the road though, that’s up for debate. However sick and twisted, some say this horrible injury was just what the team needs. Huh?

Many have already pointed to Jennings’ injury as a reason to tank – to give away games like monster truck tickets. Would you go so far to say that a catastrophic injury will be blessing in disguise? A little inhumane right, but in the Machiavellian world of pro sports, is it plausible that this gets the Pistons closer a title? Check back on Tuesday for a blistering critique on tanking and what the NBA needs to do about it.