Pistons: How worried should we be about Cade Cunningham’s injury?

It appears that fans of the Detroit Pistons are going to have to wait a little longer to see Cade Cunningham make his preseason debut.

Cunningham missed the first preseason game with an ankle injury and is unlikely to play in game two vs. Memphis.

According to Rod Beard of The Detroit News, Cunningham is going to have a least a few full-speed practices before he plays:

"“Casey said last week that the plan with the medical staff is to have Cunningham play at full strength in three or four practices before he plays in a game.”"

Cunningham missed the Pistons’ open practice on Saturday, so he has not had the requisite practices to return in tonight’s game vs. Memphis.

The Detroit Pistons claim the injury is minor and that they are just playing it safe, but is there reason for concern?

Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham’s ankles

For Pistons’ fans, ankle injuries are particularly triggering, as we had to watch superstar Grant Hill eventually have his Hall of Fame career derailed by a bum ankle that he could never get right.

While it’s far too early to call Cunningham’s ankle injury chronic, it is something he dealt with last season in college, having to miss a few games in the regular season after spraining an ankle.

I’d also say that the Detroit Pistons (and nearly all NBA teams) have a history of being less than forthright about the severity of injuries, so while I am not in panic mode, I also won’t be fully satisfied until I see Cade Cunningham on the court.

It obviously behooves the Pistons to be cautious here, as they are unlikely to be contenders and they are building for the future, so there is no reason to risk Cunningham’s health on meaningless preseason games.

But it would also be nice to see the number one pick play a full-speed game before the regular season begins, as he doesn’t want to start his career at less than 100 percent.

I think it is too early to panic about Cade Cunningham’s injury, but mark me as unpleasantly concerned, as ankle injuries can be tricky and the Detroit Pistons are being pretty tight lipped about it.