A terrific season for the Pistons just took a serious blow.
All-Star point guard and MVP candidate Cade Cunningham is expected to miss "an extended period of time" after being diagnosed with a collapsed lung, per NBA insider Shams Charania.
Cunningham suffered what was deemed a back injury early in the Pistons' win over the Wizards on Tuesday and was already ruled out of Thursday's rematch with Washington with back spasms.
He was injured when he took a knee to the back from Wizards guard Tre Johnson while they dove for a loose ball.
The outlook for Cunningham isn't completely clear, but the Pistons are in trouble without him. He's been the engine behind their Eastern Conference-leading 49-19 record, averaging 24.5 points and 9.9 assists per game in the best season of his five-year career.
Per ESPN's Tim Bontemps, longtime NBA guard CJ McCollum has twice dealt with a collapsed lung in his career, missing three weeks in 2023 and six weeks in 2021. The latter timeline would extend into the first round of the playoffs.
The Pistons have 13 games remaining and a 3.5-game lead over the Celtics for the top spot in the East. The playoffs start April 18.