Unclear how significant the injury is for Detroit’s young star
Cade Cunningham was subbed out with 6:21 in the second quarter and never returned for the Detroit Pistons in their game against the Denver Nuggets. At halftime, the team announced Cade Cunningham was out for the rest of the game with a left knee strain.
Things seemed a bit off for Cunningham in his limited minutes against the Nuggets, but there was no obvious sign he was laboring. He hit his first shot, a 3-pointer at the top of the key, but missed his next five. He couldn’t do any damage in the lane, which has been a strength for him lately, and even the mid-range shots he can get to easily against pretty much any defender were either unavailable or easily contested.
It’s the latest bit of bad news in a disastrous season for the Pistons, who have the NBA’s worst record at 3-32 entering the Nuggets game. Cade had been the team’s lone bright spot, taking a huge step forward and helping coax respectable performances even amid the losses.
If Cade misses any significant amount of time, how this team completely remakes its offense remains to be seen, and a team that already fields the league’s shallowest bench depth will have to not only find a contributor to take Cunningham’s spot, but will also need to find additional contributions off the bench.
I imagine this could pave the way for Killian Hayes to re-enter the starting lineup as the starting point guard, and allow Marcus Sasser another shot as a backup point guard.
This is a developing story, and we will update it when more information is available.