Could Detroit Pistons Shut Down Cade Cunningham?

It’s been some time since the Detroit Pistons have trotted out their star guard, Cade Cunningham. As the team is taking it easy with Cunningham down the stretch of a lost season, playing it safe is the only logical route to take at this time.

The Pistons have a handful of games left to go. Being that they are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, Detroit already found out they were going to miss the playoffs a while back.

For a young team like the Pistons, the next few games are valuable for certain players to continue getting their reps. While Cunningham remains on the young side of up-and-coming stars, he’s already proven to the Pistons’ organization that he’s valuable enough to be in their long-term plans.

Calling it a season for Cunningham wouldn’t be a terrible idea, but it seems the Pistons aren’t ready to make that move just yet.

According to Omari Sankofa, Pistons head coach Monty Williams suggested that the team anticipates having Cunningham back in the lineup this year. While the young star is experiencing some knee soreness at the moment, Williams noted that Cunningham has been “working his tail off” to get back on the court for the final stretch.

After a loss against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, the Pistons have four more games remaining. They’ll take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday before hosting the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. That game fires up a back-to-back, which concludes in Dallas on Friday. Then, the Pistons will close out the year against the San Antonio Spurs one week from Sunday.

Cunningham last appeared on the court for the pistons during their April 1 matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies. He checked in for 34 minutes, scoring 36 points on 59 percent shooting. Along with his scoring, Cunningham dished out eight assists, while coming down with four rebounds. Since then, he’s missed three games in a row.