The Detroit Pistons have been one of the top teams in the league this season, but the next few weeks might be tough for them to navigate without their star player. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Cade Cunningham would be out for an extended period of time after suffering a collapsed lung. He left their game against the Washington Wizards after only playing five minutes.
The Pistons released a statement regarding Cunningham's injury.
“After further testing, Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has been diagnosed with a left lung pneumothorax. Cunningham
exited Tuesday's game vs. the Wizards in the first quarter. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks,” the Pistons wrote.
It's uncertain how long Cunningham will be out, but there is a good chance that he misses the rest of the regular season. There is some optimism that he returns at the start of the postseason, but it's still too early to tell.
Cunningham has been the engine for the Pistons this season, and without them, they're going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting. He was having an All-NBA season, and at this point, he may not be able to qualify for the season awards with the number of games he could potentially miss.
The Pistons also are in danger of losing the No. 1 seed, as the Boston Celtics are just 3.5 games behind them. Luckily, the Pistons own the tiebreaker between them, which can go a long way if they have the same record as them at the end of the season.
The Pistons have a fairly easy schedule down the stretch, so they should be able to stay afloat while Cunningham is sidelined, but they're going to need him when the playoffs start. If they can get him back before then, that would be big for them.
