Devastating injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton opened up the Eastern Conference as well as the MVP race for the Detroit Pistons and Cade Cunningham.
To put it bluntly, this sucks, as I hate to see players get hurt and lose whole seasons, which will likely be the case with Tatum and Haliburton. I want to see the best players, even on the hated Celtics and Pacers, so these injuries are bad for the NBA.
I still wouldn’t count out the Celtics and Pacers as playoff teams in the East, but teams like the Pistons and Hawks are ready to overtake them.
That could also be true in the MVP race, in which Jayson Tatum has been a mainstay. Tatum was perpetually top six in the MVP voting and viewed by many as the 4th-best player in the league behind the trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic.
Those three are in their own tier and not likely to be supplanted next season, though don't count out a huge leap from Victor Wembanyama. But barring injury, it would be surprising if they weren’t the top three in the MVP voting again next season.
But that 4th spot is up for grabs and Cade Cunningham can stake his claim. He was ranked as the 8th-best player in the NBA in HoopHype’s recent top 100 players, so can Cade enter the Jayson Tatum Zone as the player just outside the MVP frontrunners?
Cade Cunningham in the MVP race: It will come down to wins
I liked the phrase Jayson Tatum Zone, which I lifted from a fan on X, so credit to them.
If Tatum had come along at a different time, he may have already bagged an MVP, but playing in the Joker/Giannis era makes it tough. With Victor Wembanyama emerging as a legit candidate (if he stays healthy, he’ll be top four at least) Tatum may never win one, so the Tatum Zone is a good name for MVP quality players who face stiff competition.
Cade Cunningham could be one of them next season along with Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Edwards and Luka Doncic, and it will really come down to who wins.
Other than Luka, it’s difficult to see any of these players supplanting the top three, but one of them will stake their claim to the Jayson Tatum spot. This will probably be the guy whose teams is at or near the top of the standings in the regular season as Tatum’s Celtics have been for most of his career.
We could see Brunson take the 4th spot if the Knicks win the Eastern Conference and he has another big season. Same for Ant in Minnesota and Mitchell in Cleveland in their respective divisions.
Cade Cunningham would likely have to get the Pistons to 50+ wins and a top four seed in the East to enter the Tatum Zone, goals that are within reach.
Unfortunate injuries have created a vacuum in the standings and the MVP race, and it will be interesting to see who fills it.