The Detroit Pistons just suffered a major setback. Jerami Grant, their leading scorer of the past two seasons, has torn ligaments in his right thumb, according to Shams Charania and James Edwards III of The Athletic. There is no timetable for the forward's return to action.
Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant has suffered torn ligaments in his right thumb and will be out indefinitely, sources tell me and @JLEdwardsIII. Grant is averaging 20.1 points and 4.8 rebounds this season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 12, 2021
Grant had his hand examined during the Pistons' loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and underwent tests on it the next day, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detriot Free Press.
The Pistons will now likely occupy the bottom of the Eastern Conference for longer. They already had the 29th-ranked offensive rating with Grant, who led the team with 20.1 points per game on 41.4 percent shooting. He is also one of their most important deep-range shooters, as his 1.8 made triples per game rank third on the team.
With prized rookie Cade Cunningham showing more improvement as the season goes on, Detroit won't be totally lost. Still, losing a valuable supporting cast member for Cunningham will adversely affect him and the team.
Grant's absence leaves a lot of room for scoring in the Pistons' lineup. Cunningham and second-year wing Saddiq Bey will be the likely candidates to step up. Detroit could also look to make a trade to infuse their lineup with more scoring, as they could use some even when Grant returns.
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