Detroit Pistons: Positive signs for Cade Cunningham’s return

Fans who were eager to see Cade Cunningham make his debut for the Detroit Pistons had to be patient, as he was held out off the first preseason game for precautionary reasons.

The Pistons are rightfully being careful with their young star, as there is no reason to push him in the preseason even if the ankle injury he suffered was a minor one.

The Pistons rolled to an easy victory without him and fellow backcourt mate Killian Hayes behind a solid team effort and a surprisingly effective bench unit.

Cunningham and Hayes are the backcourt of the future and fans are eager to see how the two fit together. Luckily there are some positive signs that Cade Cunningham will return to the Pistons’ starting lineup very soon.

Detroit Pistons: A favorable schedule and a limp-free warm up for Cade Cunningham

The Detroit Pistons will not play their second preseason game until Monday, a full five days after their first one, which will give Cade Cunningham some extra time to get ready.

It would be great to see him make his debut against Ja Morant, but we’ll have to wait and see if the Pistons want to give him even more time to get ready.

Cunningham appears to be moving without a limp based on this short clip from the Pistons’ last warm up. As you can see, he is taking shots without any apparent discomfort and is walking around without a limp.

He’s clearly testing out the ankle by trying to put pressure on it and shifting his weight and looks like he is able to do so comfortably.

Obviously, he is not close to full speed in this warm up, but the fact that he is even out there shows that the Detroit Pistons must not think his injury is too serious.

Hopefully this is all just a team being overprotective with their future superstar and that Cunningham will be ready to go soon. We’ve waited a long time to have a star but we might have to wait just a few games more.