Spencer Dinwiddie says his knee feels good. He says it with a firm conviction buttressed by the knowledge that he'd never have been granted the chance to test its readiness if Stan Van Gundy and Arnie Kander didnt believe it was time.

"Whatever Stan says is the way it goes, him and Arnie," Dinwiddie said of his coach and the Pistons physical therapist, the latter his shadow since the team drafted him in June, five months after hed suffered a torn ACL. "I made the joke that they're like my parents, but it's the truth. I just suit up, sit on the bench and wait for them to say, Hey, get in the game. Whether that's the last preseason game or the next game or the game after that, nobody knows."

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Dinwiddie appears close enough to clearance for full participation--he's taken part in five-on-five, full-court action for two full practices this week  that Van Gundy is openly musing about the possibility of Dinwiddie playing in Thursday's preseason finale. That's in stark contrast to his past utterances on Dinwiddie, when he's maintained holding no expectations for his rookie season and deferring completely to Kander and the medical side.

Being ready to practice and being ready to play over nine months of accumulated rust are two different things, but Dinwiddie says at least hes not playing with any nagging doubts about his knee.

"Actually, I don't even think about it," he said. Thats the blessing of it. I don't feel it and I don't think about it when I get out there and play."

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Van Gundy believes him, too.

"I thought he looked good on Tuesday, struggled a little bit from a playing standpoint on Thursday, but he hasn't played a lot, Van Gundy said of the two practice days the Pistons slotted in around their three-game road trip last week. Physically, he looks fine and he's got great confidence. He doesn't seem to have hesitation on anything."

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Perhaps it was coincidence that the Pistons traded away a point guard within days of Dinwiddie taking part in his first simulated game action. They had an acute need, after all, for a backup big man given the uncertainty of Aaron Gray's health and Greg Monroe's two-game suspension to open the regular season. But Dinwiddie's apparent imminent availability likely made them that much more comfortable parting with a veteran as capable of shouldering major minutes as Will Bynum.

"I really like Will Bynum," Dinwiddie said. "Will is a very wise man and he taught me a lot in our short time together. He got traded and just by the numbers game it would signal that it's a vote of confidence, so I appreciate that. But, once again, it's still up to Stan. I still have to go out there and work hard and prove myself."

Van Gundy likes what hes seen from Brandon Jennings and D.J. Augustin so far at point guard and theres no reason to expect they won't comprise the rotation for the foreseeable future. But with Van Gundy showing over the weekend that he's flexible enough to play both at the same time--they went the entire fourth quarter together on Saturday night, combining for 20 points in that time to lead the Pistons back from 13 down to win at Atlanta--it's not a stretch to believe Dinwiddie could play in the backcourt alongside Jennings or Augustin.

And Dinwiddie offers the size Van Gundy covets at the position for the passing angles available to him and the backcourt defensive flexibility he offers.

With injuries to the top two shooting guards, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jodie Meeks, that size could provide Dinwiddie an opening to playing time at the other backcourt spot.

"My size is what makes me special and at the same time, I just want to play," Dinwiddie said. "It's fun just being able to play again, at the one or the two. I'm trying to do whatever it takes for the team to win. If that's shooting threes, then I hope Brandon Jennings and D.J. Augustin find me. It's just about helping the team win."