The Detroit Pistons have been one of the top teams in the league this season, but the next few weeks could be tough for them playing without their star player. ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Cade Cunningham will be out for an extended period of time with a lung injury. He left their game against the Washington Wizards after playing only five minutes.
The Pistons released a statement regarding Cunningham's injury.
"After further testing, Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has been diagnosed with pneumothorax of the left lung. Cunningham
Went out in the first quarter of Tuesday's game vs. the Wizards. He will be reevaluated in two weeks, Pistone wrote.
It is uncertain how long Cunningham will be out, but there is a good chance he will miss the remainder of the regular season. There is some optimism that he will return for the start of the postseason, but it is still too early to tell.
Cunningham has been the engine for the Pistons this season, and without him, they will have to carry a lot of the load. He had an All-NBA season, and at this point, he may not be able to qualify for season awards given the amount of games he could potentially miss.
The Pistons are also in danger of losing the No. 1 seed, as the Boston Celtics are just 3.5 games behind them. Luckily, the Pistons have a tiebreaker between them, which could 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, so they should be able to stick around if Cunningham is sidelined, but they'll need him when the playoffs start. If they can bring him back before that then it would be a big thing for them.
