The Detroit Pistons will welcome the San Antonio Spurs into Little Caesar’s Arena tonight with both teams trying to expand modest winning streaks of one and three games, respectively.
The big question for Pistons fans is whether Cade Cunningham is going to play and if his injury is actually real or just one they used to justify getting him some extra rest against the lowly Pelicans, who were also missing their best player.
With Victor Wembanyama already out for the season with blood clots, fans are getting denied a chance to see two of the best young teams in basketball go head-to-head at full strength.
You can argue about which one is better, but there is no arguing that the Pistons and Spurs have two of the best young cores in basketball, that they are on a similar timeline and should be rivals for years to come.
I wouldn’t rule out these two teams meeting in the NBA Finals at some point in the next few years, as both have a superstar and supporting cast that are not close to reaching their respective peaks and they are both already pretty good.
The Pistons have won 40 games with 10 more to play and the Spurs 31 even though they’ve had a ton of injuries and came into this season thinking more of development than playoff hopes.
The Spurs also have a chest of future draft picks, including likely two in the lottery in 2025, so this could be like the early 2000’s when both teams were starting to shape into ones that would eventually win titles.
Pistons injuries vs. Spurs: Is Cade Cunningham playing tonight?
I assumed Cade Cunningham sat out against the Pelicans as a precautionary measure and because they thought they could win without him. That is not the case against the Spurs, who are still a tough beat even with all of the injuries, so if Cade can go tonight, I assume he will.
He has been upgraded to questionable along with Tim Hardaway Jr. That’s a great sign for THJ, as it means his sprain isn’t that severe and that he should be returning to the lineup soon.
Ron Holland II and Marcus Sasser stepped up big time in their absence in the last game, but the Pistons need everyone ready for this home stretch of the season.
The Spurs will be missing Wemby and De’Aaron Fox, who are both out for the season along with Riley Minix.
Charles Bassey has also been ruled out for tonight and rookie Stephon Castle is listed as questionable after hyperextending his knee.
How to watch the Pistons vs Spurs
You can watch tonight’s game, which tips off at 7:00 PM ET, on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra or on TV 20 Detroit, so for once, you can watch the game for free without cable.
The game will also be broadcast on the radio on 97.1 FM The Ticket or you can stream it on one of many options.