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No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunnigham has yet to take the court for the Detroit Pistons as he recovers from an ankle injury he suffered in training camp. But he’ll take a step in the right direction by practicing with the team on Friday.
“He practiced with [the Motor City Cruise] all week,” Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said on Thursday. “He’s going to practice with us tomorrow. There’s no set date [for his return].”
The Pistons fell to 0-4 this season in Thursday’s 110-102 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Detroit’s offense struggled for much of the game before a late fourth-quarter run made the game close.
With the Pistons set to return home from their three-game road trip for Saturday’s game against the Orlando Magic, there is a hope that Cunningham might be able to debut in front of the Detroit fans.
“Hopefully, we’ll get him back sooner than later,” Pistons general manager Troy Weaver said on Wednesday. “But I would anticipate hopefully seeing him when we get back off the road.”
Cunningham flashed why he was worthy of the No. 1 overall pick during the 2021 summer league. He averaged 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 50.0 percent from three-point range.
Cunningham’s absence has meant more minutes for second-year point guard Killian Hayes. After being limited to 26 games as a rookie because of a hip injury, Hayes has struggled this season. He entered Thursday’s game averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 assists.
The Pistons are wisely taking a cautious approach to Cunningham’s return. But if they hope to avoid missing the playoffs for the third straight year, they need their star rookie to come back sooner rather than later.
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