Detroit Pistons MVP candidate Cade Cunningham is making good progress in his return to play process for a collapsed left lung he recently suffered and is under the supervision of physicians and team medical personnel.
He will be re-evaluated in one week, leaving the door open for his return to the court before the conclusion of the regular season.
Cunningham has missed each of the Pistons' last eight games since suffering this injury on March 17 against the Washington Wizards. Just five minutes into this game, Detroit's star guard took an inadvertent knee to the back/side from Wizards wing Tre Johnson while diving for a loose ball, leading to his departure and further evaluation.
The good news for Cunningham and the Pistons is that his treatment has required extra rest with no complications.
In terms of his MVP campaign, Cunningham is still dangerously close to becoming ineligible for end-of-season honors due to the NBA's 65-game minimum rule. He must play in four more games this season to retain eligibility and not only receive MVP votes, but earn All-NBA First Team honors.
Following Thursday night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Pistons will have only five games remaining on their schedule.
Although his hopes of still playing in at least 65 games are not gone quite yet, the Pistons' announcement that Cunningham will be re-evaluated in one week could ultimately end his MVP campaign.
As of right now, Cunningham will miss Thursday night's game against Minnesota and Saturday night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers. If he misses Monday night's game against the Orlando Magic, as the Pistons' medical update suggests, Cunningham will be ineligible for end-of-season honors and awards.
This has been a significant topic of discussion around the NBA since Cunningham suffered a lung injury, as both his agent and the NBPA have spoken out against the NBA for its 65-game minimum rule.
“Cade Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for postseason awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and yet another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries,” the NBPA said in a statement. “Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honors by the arbitrary and overly rigid quota.”
Since then, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has come out in defense of the 65-game minimum rule, stating that it has “worked” as intended and that he doesn't see there needing to be any changes moving forward.
In 61 games this season, Cunningham has averaged 24.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 9.9 assists per game while shooting 46.1 percent from the floor.
Without their star guard, the Pistons have gone 6-2 over their last eight games and are 55-21 entering Thursday night's game against the Timberwolves, four full games ahead of the Boston Celtics for the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference.
