Stewart appeared at Pistons shootaround Thursday afternoon, his first basketball activity since leaving Game 1 against the Knicks with a knee injury. Still, the 23-year-old center isn’t available for Game 6 as he’s set to miss his fifth game in a row. The Pistons are in a must-win situation Thursday and will have to roll with Paul Reed again as the backup center to Jalen Duren.

Stewart has missed Detroit’s last four games but could return for the final game in Detroit of this series. The Pistons must win to stay alive, but that wasn’t enough of a factor for Stewart to play through the injury in Game 5. If he remains out, Paul Reed will continue to fill out the backup center minutes.

Stewart has not appeared in a game since the series opener on April 19, due to an inflamed right knee. Beef Stew is left to hope his teammates can force a Game 6, as they go into Tuesday trailing by three games to one. Paul Reed will continue to serve as Jalen Duren’s backup, but he’s unlikely to surpass 15 minutes in that role.

Stewart logged 19 minutes in Game 1 and has missed the last three games of the first-round series with New York. Should Stewart miss Game 5, Paul Reed should continue to pick up additional minutes in his absence.