The Detroit Pistons have won two straight without Cade Cunningham, defeating the Pelicans and Spurs, two teams headed for the lottery.
It won’t be so easy tonight, as they are taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team on the verge of winning 60 games and currently leading the Eastern Conference.
Cunningham has already been ruled out for tonight’s game with what is being called a contusion, a nebulous word that can mean whatever you want it to, which I’m pretty sure is by design.
You can’t blame Pistons fans for being concerned, given Cade Cunningham’s injury history, as well as the team’s record of not being transparent about injured players.
I thought it was smart to sit Cade in the last two games, as they could win them anyway and it would give him a full week’s rest before the Cleveland game, but now that he is missing this one, count me as moderately concerned.
But there are plenty of other things at play here.
Cade Cunningham’s injury: Covert seeding strategy
The Detroit Pistons would never admit this or even admit they were thinking about it, but I don’t think they care if they get the 5th seed.
The Pacers are not only playing better than the Bucks or Knicks but are completely healthy, so even though Detroit won’t say this out loud, it’s possible they’d prefer to play New York.
I am not in any way suggesting they are trying to lose, as that is very clearly not the case, only that they don’t really care if they do, as there isn’t much at stake.
The Pistons are now a full six games ahead of Atlanta with just nine more to play, so it would take a monumental collapse AND a big run from the Hawks for the Pistons to lose a guaranteed playoff spot.
The Pistons are 2-1 against the Knicks this season, 1-3 against the Pacers and 0-2 against the Bucks, a team they beat like once every decade or so.
I’m not saying (I REPEAT, NOT SAYING) that the Pistons are getting cute and trying to game the seeding to get the Knicks, as New York is a very good team, even without Jalen Brunson.
What I am saying, is that there isn’t much at stake here, as the Pistons are unlikely to catch either the Pacers or Knicks, so if you can get your best and most important player some rest, why not?
I am far more concerned about having Cade Cunningham at 100 percent for the playoffs than what seed the Pistons end up with and I am sure the team feels the same.
This also gives the bench and role players another chance to build confidence against a good team, and if the Pistons could steal this one (Cleveland is on the 2nd game of a back-to-back) it would be a big boost for everyone.
Pistons injuries vs. Cavaliers: Is Cade Cunningham playing tonight?
Nope, Cade is out and so is Jaden Ivey, whose last injury update did leave some room for a late return this season if the Pistons were to make the playoffs.
The Cavaliers have Evan Mobley and Ty Jerome listed as day-to-day after they both missed last night’s game against the Spurs, so Cleveland might also be shorthanded.
How to watch Pistons vs. Cavaliers
The 7:00 PM ET tip off in Little Caesar’s Arena is on the radio on 950 AM or you can watch on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra.
There are also several streaming options available for those without cable.