Luke Kennard’s default expression is often a smile. Anyone who watched him having a ball in the 3-point shootout at All-Star weekend knows that.

It likely says something about Kennard, whose father raised him, Mark Kennard said, to practice the golden rule. That is to say: “If you want to act like an idiot, you’re going to get treated like an idiot.” Accordingly, Luke Kennard is a class act.

It might also say something about his years-long exposure to Reggie Jackson, the incessantly positive force who has danced his way into the hearts of many a Clippers fan with his big-shot-taking and -making – such as those he hit last season in Detroit.

Recall Jackson’s game-tying 3-pointer with 19 seconds to go that set up his game-winner with 2.3 seconds left in that 100-98 victory April 14, 2021, when the Clippers extended their winning streak to seven games – despite being severely short-handed, without Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Serge Ibaka, Patrick Beverley and Marcus Morris Sr.

In other words: Any Given Sunday, this season.

When the Clippers, with a stubborn 35-34 record, return Sunday to Detroit – where the noontime Pacific start will feel especially early considering it aligns with the start of daylight saving time – they’ll be without Leonard (ACL), George (elbow), Norman Powell (foot) and Robert Covington (personal).

There will good reason to be grumpy – especially coming off Friday’s fade in a 112-106 loss at Atlanta – but don’t expect to get that from Kennard or Jackson when they step into Little Caesars Arena again.

“He always has a smile on his face,” Kennard said of Jackson, with whom he played for most of his three seasons in Detroit before they reunited as Clippers last season. “And that just kind of helps you out a little bit.

“It’s been a lot of fun playing with him – I mean, I played with him in Detroit, so I know what Reggie is all about. He was my vet in Detroit, and we kind of built a connection right away. He helped me a lot throughout my first couple of years there. And just to be back with him now and to play even more of a role with him now than I did in Detroit, it’s fun.

“He always brings energy,” Kennard continued. “Not just what you see here, but practices, everything. He’s always screaming. You always know when Reggie’s in the building. And it always gets us going. He’s our leader, he’s been our leader all year, and he’s going to take us all the way to the playoffs. And we’re just, we’re going to follow him.”

REGGIE JACKSON TIES IT.
REGGIE JACKSON WINS IT.#ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/VOf9AHNfga

— NBA (@NBA) April 15, 2021

Luke Kennard is the early leader in Round 1 of #MtnDew3PT with a score of 28!

4 shooters left, top 3 advance.#NBAAllStar #StateFarmSaturday pic.twitter.com/YgPWhfw3Mk

— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022

PISTONS WARMING UP

The Clippers have what Tankathon.com gauges as the sixth-hardest route to the regular-season finish line, with a four-week, 13-game final act that includes games against 2021 NBA finalists Phoenix and Milwaukee, as well as Utah, Philadelphia, Chicago and Denver – playoff-bound teams that entered Saturday a combined 256-142.

There are also games against Oklahoma City, Sacramento and New Orleans, who are a combined 71-130 but 6-2 against the Clippers.

And then there are the Pistons, who are 18-49 and ahead of only the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference standings – and by just a half-game.

But the standings can be deceiving.

Detroit started the season as the NBA’s fourth-youngest team, its rostered players averaging 24.8 years. And it seems those guys are starting to get it: The Pistons have won six of their past 10 games, a stretch in which their net rating is negative-1.9, markedly better than negative-10.2 it was.

In November, the Clippers beat Detroit 107-96 and held Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, to 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range. But that was Cunningham’s 14th NBA game; Sunday’s will be his 54th.

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“You come in as a rookie, especially at the point guard position, that’s the toughest position to play in the game,” Lue said before his Clippers met Cunningham in November. “It’s a new game, it’s a different game. And (Dwane) Casey’s a great coach, so he’s gonna be patient with him. He’s starting to make the reads, the right reads, the right play, and he’s going to get more and more comfortable.”

Lue called it: In the past 10 games, the 20-year-old Cunningham is scoring 22 points per game, compared with 15.6 previously. He’s also averaging 7.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

CLIPPERS (35-34) at PISTONS (18-39)

When: Noon Sunday

Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit

TV/Radio: Bally Sports SoCal / 570 AM