The Detroit Pistons have fared well without Cade Cunningham in the lineup over the past few weeks.
When the star guard initially went down with a collapsed lung, outsiders believed that Detroit could fall from the top seed of the Eastern Conference. The Pistons fired off four wins before taking on their first Cunningham-less loss of that stretch.
They bounced back by winning six of their next seven games. The sixth victory, which occurred against the Philadelphia 76ers, was the matchup that helped the Pistons lock up the East’s first seed.
After Monday night’s loss against the Orlando Magic, the Pistons are going to return to the floor to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. This time around, the Pistons expect to have Cunningham back on the court for the first time since March 17.
Pistons Announce Starting Lineup vs Milwaukee Bucks
The Pistons will start Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris, and Ausar Thompson.
The Pistons upgraded Cunningham to doubtful earlier this week, and he didn’t play, as expected. He was upgraded to questionable ahead of Wednesday’s game. When Cunningham was present for the team’s shootaround, it was a positive sign that suggested Cunningham could suit up again.
Sure enough, that’s the case.
This season, Cunningham has appeared in 61 games for the Pistons. He produced 24.5 points per game, while shooting 46.1% from the field and 34.6% from three. He also averaged 5.6 rebounds, 9.9 assists per game, and 1.5 steals per game.
After notching his second-straight NBA All-Star appearance, Cunningham was also in the running to be a potential MVP finalist. All-NBA seemed to be in the cards as well. Cunningham’s final three-game stretch with the Pistons could save his case. However, they are unlikely to push limits this late into the season.
Right now, the top priority for the Pistons is getting Cunningham back in basketball shape before the pre-playoffs break.
After Wednesday’s action against Milwaukee, Cunningham will have a shot at playing against the Charlotte Hornets on the road, as well as the Indiana Pacers.
The Pistons tip off against the Bucks at 7 PM ET.