The Detroit Pistons chances to come out of the Eastern Conference took a drastic hit when Cade Cunningham went down with a collapsed lung.
The indefinite absence of the MVP candidate comes at a terrible time considering the recent rough stretch Detroit was already attempting to navigate through over the last month of play.
At the same time, Cunningham's absence isn't the only issue head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his staff have been tasked to deal with.
In fact, the ongoing issues Detroit was dealing with prior to Cunningham is the exact reasons why NBA insider Marc Stein among others believed that the Pistons were no longer considered the favorites to represent the East in the NBA Finals.
Marc Stein has serious doubts about Pistons
On a recent episode of the All NBA Podcast, Stein made his stance on the Pistons crystal clear as the postseason looms.
"A lot of people think that the Celtics can come out of the East now," Stein said. "Detroit has obviously lost Cade Cunningham indefinitely, even with Cade Cunningham, they didn't have enough shooting. They were asking Cade to do so much. They lack experience."
The insider didn't stop there though, as he continued to make a bold claim about Detroit's chances as of now.
"Like even though the Pistons have led the East basically the whole season, there are still question marks about them, and without Cade, I mean they're not even part of this discussion"
The comments from Stein alone say a lot about the recent narrative surrounding the Pistons postseason hopes, and while fans certainly may not be a fan of his take, the harsh reality is that without Cunningham, these comments may be spot on.
Detroit has too many questions without Cade
Since Cunningham's injury, Detroit has won each of their last three games without their star guard, and while that's impressive, don't let that record fool you.
The Pistons have played the tanking Washington Wizards and a shorthanded Golden State Warriors team over their recent stretch, and neither win offered any reason to believe they'll be just fine without Cunningham.
Shooting is certainly a concern to begin with, and if Cunningham doesn't make it back for the playoffs, the backcourt rotation that Bickerstaff will have at his disposal could quickly become a weakness opposing team's exploit.
Regardless, Detroit control their own fate and if they get hot at the right time, it wouldn't be a total shock to see them weather the storm until their star guard can hopefully return to action.
They are doing a great job of it so far after last night's thriller over the Lakers, showing that you can never count this team out.