What was looking like a fairytale season for the Detroit Pistons seems to be heading down an unfortunate ending with Cade Cunningham being diagnosed with a collapsed lung. The All-NBA guard has led the Pistons to the top seed in the Eastern Conference with his outstanding play. Unfortunately, the injury will sideline him for an extended period and ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith predicts this will severely hurt the Pistons’ success for the rest of the season.
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One of the best storylines of the 2025-26 NBA season has been the resurgence of the Detroit Pistons. Last year, they completely flipped the script, going from one of the worst teams ever to a competent playoff team. Obviously, people expected them to build upon their success, but nobody thought they would be this dominant.
Detroit currently has the third-best record in the NBA behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. They have been the best team in the East the entire season with a 49-19 record. However, Cunningham’s recent collapsed lung could result in a big change up.
The Boston Celtics have sneakily kept up with Detroit and are only 3.5 games back of the first seed. With 14 games remaining, there’s a possibility that Boston may overtake them, which Stephen A. Smith can see happening.
“I definitely think this compromises the Pistons,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “[Cunningham] is the offense. Everything goes through him. You don’t expect them to fall off a cliff, but the Boston Celtics are ascending.”
.@stephenasmith reacts to the news that Cade Cunningham is out for an extended period of time with a collapsed lung. pic.twitter.com/TojrggbEZO
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 19, 2026
The Celtics definitely don’t want to see Cunningham hurt, but this is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of. Jayson Tatum has returned from an Achilles injury, and Boston is playing some of their best basketball of the season. This is the worst time for the Pistons to suffer a big blow such as this.
“This is something that could potentially cost them the number one seed,” Smith added. “The Detroit Pistons and their championship aspirations go nowhere without this man.”
The Pistons understand more than anybody else that their championship hopes rely on a healthy Cade Cunningham. That said, it’s not completely hopeless. They have shown some fight in the seven games he hasn’t played and have a 5-2 record. However, the playoffs are an entirely different environment. It is extremely difficult to win without the team’s best player.
Thankfully, there’s optimism that Cunningham can return for the start of the postseason, which would be ideal. Detroit has enough talent to win a first-round series without him. Nevertheless, it would be a shame if their remarkable season goes down the drain simply because Cunningham can’t play when it matters most.
