2 min read • February 09, 2022
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The Pistons ruled out star rookie point guard Cade Cunningham for Tuesday night's game versus Dallas with a right hip pointer.
Cunningham has missed the last 4 games after suffering the injury midway through the 3rd quarter last Monday, Jan. 1, against the Pelicans.
Our team of ProBasketballDocs believe that Cunningham is day-to-day going forward, and while he could likely play today (depending on the level of soreness), the team will hold him out until he is fully healthy, which will likely come closer to or after the All-Star break from Feb. 17-20.
The 6'6" point guard suffered the bruise after landing directly on his right side while diving for a loose ball with 6:25 left in the 3rd quarter.
He was able to quickly hop back up and stay in the game after the initial landing for multiple possessions, including one Pistons timeout, because the swelling did not set in until several minutes later. He will not return until the swelling and soreness subside, which should be soon.
The Pistons, while already one of the worst teams in the NBA at 12-43, struggle even more severely without Cunningham going 1-11 without him this season while being outscored by 152 points in those 12 games.
After a slow start to the season – which was postponed for 4 games due to a sprained ankle he suffered on Oct. 1– Cunningham is averaging 17.4 points with 4.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists on .430/.390/.857 shooting splits in his last 26 games.
Frank Jackson and Killian Hayes – who was recently demoted to a bench role – will continue to step in for Cunningham beside starter Cory Joseph.
Josh Jackson is also out for a 6th straight game with back soreness, but the Pistons have back leading scorer Jerami Grant, who returned Feb. 1 from a torn UCL in his thumb.
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