Corey Maggette injury: Pistons forward talks about recovery from calf strain

Detroit Pistons small forward Corey Maggette will have to wait a bit longer to make his debut with the team after suffering a calf strain last month, as David Mayo of MLive writes. In the midst of his recovery, Maggette finally began running on Tuesday, but that's simply the first step in getting back on the court.

For a player that relies on driving to the hoop to get easy baskets and draw fouls, Maggette knows he needs to get his explosiveness back, saying, "My game is mostly driving and exploding. It's kind of hard to simulate it right now."

Since suffering the injury during a preseason game against the Miami Heat on Oct. 18, Maggette has been making consistent progress in his return, but a heavy schedule makes it difficult to get him back into the rotation. With four games in the next five days, the lack of full practices leaves the team uncertain as to how he'll actually look in game situations.

As coach Lawrence Frank said, "I'm not putting a guy out there until I see him practice and how he reacts to that. I wouldn't do that."

In 32 games last year with the Charlotte Bobcats, Maggette averaged 15.0 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game, but he played only three times over the final month of the season. The Pistons then acquired him during the offseason in exchange for guard Ben Gordon in a swap of overpaid veteran scorers, but he's still awaiting his Detroit debut.