Leading up to the potential return of Cade Cunningham, concerns surrounded the Detroit Pistons, not because of how the MVP candidate's return would shake things up ahead of the playoffs, but that he'd be ready for postseason minutes immediately.
After playing 26 minutes in his first game back from a collapsed lung, not only did the star guard put those concerns to rest, but he did it in the simplest way possible, proving that his impact on the game goes far beyond his offensive scoring.
In fact, his presence alone will be the difference maker for Detroit moving forward.
Cunningham didn't just look the part of a floor general on Wednesday night, but he directed traffic without any concerns that his stamina or time away from the game would restrict him moving forward.
For that alone, fans should be letting out a sigh of relief.
Cunningham showed no signs of concern
The questions surrounding Cunningham's return to play seemed to be more about how he'd look physically rather than anything else.
To say the playmaker answered those questions with flying colors, though, would be an understatement.
The 24-year-old leader proved with his pace and ability to make an impact both offensively (13 points, 10 assists) and defensively (1 block, 1 steal) that his conditioning wouldn't be a problem leading up to the playoffs.
And with a couple of games remaining in the regular season, there's plenty of time for the Oklahoma State product to get his feet completely under him before their postseason push begins.
Cade Cunningham is back to lead the Pistons on a playoff run
There's plenty of factors for why the Pistons' star opted to push for a return to the floor this season.
The first of many was the possibility of earning All-NBA honors, an honor he more than deserves after his career-year leading Detroit.
Beyond that, though, the Pistons' championship aspirations were among the reasons as to why the team's leader pushed to make his return to the court, and considering how seamlessly he impacted the game for the Motor City squad in his return, there's no reason why J.B. Bickerstaff's squad can't prove the doubters wrong.
With Cunningham back, and the return of Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons are set to enter the playoffs fully healthy and with the No. 1 seed already locked in; all the signs are aligning for the team to make a deep playoff run.