Cade Cunningham returned to the court for the Detroit Pistons for their January 23 matchup against the Houston Rockets. As the Pistons’ star has been dealing with a wrist injury, he took off for his team’s January 21 game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Cunningham’s status for the Pistons’ Sunday matchup against the Sacramento Kings remained the same. He checked in for 30 minutes amid the Pistons’ blowout victory.
Despite having a present in their last two games, the Pistons' star is reportedly dealing with a difficult setback. Following Sunday’s game, Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff spoke on Cunningham’s status.
“It’s not easy what he’s going through,” Bickerstaff told reporters, according to Omari Sankofa II. “Wrist on your shooting hand makes things a little more difficult … it’s one of those things where we’re hoping it just takes time.”
You couldn’t tell by the numbers on Sunday. Cunningham led all starters with 30 minutes played from Detroit. He shot 13-22 from the field, going 3-5 from three. Cunningham produced 29 points. He garnered a double-double by dishing out 11 assists. He also came down with five rebounds, blocked one shot, and had three steals.
The Pistons dominated the Kings 139-116. It was a solid bounce-back game for the Pistons, who came up short against the Houston Rockets on Friday.
This season, Cunningham is once again establishing himself as one of the top guards in the league. After notching his first All-Star appearance last year with averages of 26.1 points, 9.1 assists, and 6.1 rebounds, the star guard is putting up 25.3 points, 9.7 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 45 percent from the field.
For the second season in a row, Cunningham is an NBA All-Star—this time as a starter.
As long as Cunningham stays healthy, he’ll be able to help keep the Pistons as the top team in the Eastern Conference. The wrist injury might be something that will nag him moving forward, the Pistons’ star has made it clear he could play through it.
The Pistons will be back on the court on Tuesday to take on the Denver Nuggets.