Cade Cunningham sidelined
Detroit’s guard Cade Cunningham is sidelined with a lung injury — the team confirmed the absence in coverage of recent playoff‑race developments (si.com). The report flags the injury as a meaningful availability question as the postseason picture sharpens this week (si.com).
The Pistons’ official medical update lists Cunningham with a left‑lung pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and says he will be re‑evaluated in two weeks. (nba.com) ESPN and team sources report Cunningham will miss at least two weeks and estimated that absence translates to roughly eight games minimum. (espn.com) Cunningham is averaging 24.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 9.9 assists through 61 games this season, and he needs to appear in at least five more games to reach the 65‑game threshold for regular‑season award eligibility. (nba.com) Detroit entered the injury update at 49‑19 with 14 regular‑season games remaining, and the club has gone 5‑2 in games without Cunningham this year. (nba.com) Medical precedent is mixed: CJ McCollum missed roughly 17–18 games over about six weeks in 2021 after a pneumothorax, while analysts compiling past cases put the mean time lost near 26 days (≈10.8 games). ( ) Cunningham’s two‑week re‑evaluation would fall around April 2, 2026, with the regular season set to end April 12 and the playoffs scheduled to begin April 18—placing Detroit’s final seeding and Cunningham’s postseason availability on a tight calendar. ( )
