Celtics, Knicks get huge injury break in east playoff race
The Pistons suffered a crushing injury blow for the home stretch of the season, as the Celtics and Knicks are poised to gain ground.
Mar 15, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives the the basket against Toronto Raptors guard Scottie Barnes (4) during the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
The Detroit Pistons will be without All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham for the foreseeable future. Earlier Thursday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Cunningham had been diagnosed with a collapsed lung and is expected to miss an extended amount of time.
It seems that Cunningham suffered the injury diving for a loose ball while playing the Washington Wizards earlier in the week. He would leave that game in the first quarter and was initially ruled out with back spasms.
The two-time All Star had been the driving force behind the Pistons' resurgent season with Detroit holding the top seed in the Eastern Conference since Nov. 7. Cunningham's 24.5 points and career high 9.9 assists put him in the MVP conversation throughout the NBA season.
Without Cunningham, the top seed Pistons are at risk of backsliding in the Eastern Conference, with the Boston Celtics (3.5 games back) and New York Knicks (5 games back) poised to gain ground in the standings with only a handful of games left before the playoffs.
"There is some optimism that [Cunningham] is gonna be back for the playoffs," Charania told ESPN earlier this morning, "this is a situation now, an injury that he's going to be fighting, rehabbing...the Pistons, their doctors, their medical staff, they're all going to work together to get more information in the next few days as far as treatment and potential recovery."
C.J. McCollum recently dealt with a similar injury. McCollum suffered a collapsed lung in a game against the Celtics on Dec. 4, 2021 and would return to play on Jan. 17, 2022.
Significant time missed from Cunningham could also remove him from MVP contention. He is currently four games short of the NBA's 65-game minimum threshold to even qualify for consideration. While not the favorite, Cunningham's stand out season generated MVP chatter and put him in the race alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić.
The Pistons are left hoping they can cling to the No. 1 seed, and regardless of where they land, that they can get Cunningham back and playing like his old self come playoff time.
