After missing 11 games due to a collapsed lung, Cade Cunningham is expected to make his return to the court for the Pistons on Wednesday night against the Bucks, a story broken by Vinny Goodwill of ESPN.
Detroit had hoped to get its All-Star into a couple of games before the end of the season, rather than having him return during the intensity of the playoffs. He makes that comeback in a game that does not impact the Pistons in the standings, while the Bucks will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis and Kevin Porter Jr.
While Cunningham was out, the Pistons still went 8-3 behind stellar playmaking from Daniss Jenkings and continued All-NBA level play from Jalen Duren. With that, it locked up the No. 1 seed in the East. With that, the Pistons will be off for about a week after the regular season ends.
Cunningham averaged 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds a game this season. He was on track to be a likely top-five in MVP voting and First Team All-NBA, but this injury means he will not meet the NBA threshold of 65 games to qualify for postseason awards.
Cunningham was injured on March 17 after colliding with Wizards’ rookie Tre Johnson diving for a loose ball. He immediately left that game, not to return.
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