The Pistons fumbled the bag right when they needed the most! After a hard-fought battle against the Charlotte Hornets, the Detroit side needed a last push to seal the game in overtime. Unfortunately, right before the fourth quarter’s final buzzer, the team’s trusted guard, Cade Cunningham, exited the floor. To be precise, he left the floor when there was one second left on the clock.

The team announced that the 23-year-old, who scored a team-high 27 points, suffered a left hip injury and headed to the locker room. Most importantly, he won’t return for the night. And unfortunately, the Pistons succumbed to a 121-123 loss in overtime.

It has been that kind of night for the Pistons right from the tip-off. The Motor City’s team struggled to keep up with the Hornets’ offense, as they kept trailing behind the Buzz City’s lead. Heading into the fourth quarter, the scores were at 79-93, leaving the visitors a tough task in the final twelve minutes.

However, the Pistons responded to the situation well and produced a 30-point quarter while restricting the Hornets to just 16 points. With 47 seconds left in the clock, the visitors took the much-awaited lead (108-107) off Cade Cunningham’s free throw. The star guard expanded the lead to two points with another free throw. However, LaMelo Ball immediately responded with a floater to tie the game.

On the other hand, Cunningham personally had a rough night despite leading the team’s offense with a 9-26 FG. Nevertheless, the star took care of other business, nearly stealing a triple-double against his name with 7 rebounds and 10 assists. He played for 37 minutes but still couldn’t take the team past the finish line. Anyway, will the Pistons’ resurrection be in any trouble? Only time will tell!

Cade Cunningham had it clear right from the word, go

Last season, the Pistons had one of the worst seasons. It’s safe to say it was the worst, as they held an infamous record for the longest losing streak in a single season, losing 28 straight games. The team, under the coaching of Monty Williams, went directionless and struggled at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 14-68 record.

Despite the journey in the dark tunnel, Cade Cunningham acted as a lone firefly, showing his class. At the end of the season, he closed out with an impressive average of 22.7 ppg and 7.5 apg. Moreover, at the end of the disappointing season, he said, “This year reshaped my thinking about it. I work on perfecting my craft at this point… I think that’s where we’re all at, we’re trying to get better every day because we know that’ll give us the result we want.” 

Just like he said, Cunningham has recorded a career-high stat line of 23.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, and 8.9 apg, taking the Pistons to a decent start. Unlike the disappointing previous season, the Pistons are poised to book a spot in the playoffs. With 17 games into the season, the team currently stands in the 7th seed with a 7-10 record. Moreover, J.B. Bickerstaff, the new coach of the Pistons, said, “The sky is the limit for where he’s going to be able to go… I think he’s a stud, I don’t think there’s a lot he can’t do on the basketball floor.”

Nevertheless, now everything has come to a standstill. Until the management drops a positive update on Cade’s injury, the Pistons fans will have their fingers crossed. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.