00:00This Pistons star and Knicks destroyer Cade Cunningham's collapsed lung opened up the race for who's going to take the
00:07Eastern Conference.
00:08It's going to be re-evaluated in about two weeks.
00:11So let's talk Detroit versus everybody with Amari Sankofa, Pistons reporter for the Detroit Free Press and co-host of
00:19the Pistons Pulse podcast.
00:21Amari, appreciate you hopping on, man.
00:23I got to get the Pistons Pulse on the updates and reports on Cade's energy and injury.
00:30Can you give us the updates in any sort of timeline to when they're saying he'll be back on the
00:36court?
00:38Yeah, so with the collapsed lung, they're saying a two-week re-evaluation.
00:43I think that's probably the best, best, best case scenario as far as when he can return.
00:50And you are looking at the possibility of him missing the regular season, maybe a little bit more.
00:56But this is the minimum two-week thing for Cade.
01:01So it's March 20th, playoff start April 18th.
01:04You're looking at a pretty aggressive timeline, I would say, to get him back in time for that.
01:12But it's also a possibility he'll be back for the first round.
01:15Okay, so the Pistons have 13 games less in this less-than-a-month time of where we have to
01:21the start of those playoffs, as you mentioned.
01:24And they're in a somewhat comfortable lead to lock up that one seed, currently four games ahead of Boston.
01:30But how do you think this is going to change J.B. Bickerstaff's approach to locking up the East completely?
01:39You know, I think the Pistons are going to value just staying healthy above all else.
01:44You don't have Cade.
01:45Isaiah Stewart's been out.
01:47He'll be re-evaluated early next week.
01:49But he's been dealing with a calf issue.
01:51Like you said, they're four games up on top of the East, four games up on the Boston Celtics.
01:57I believe five-and-a-half games up on the New York Knicks.
02:01So they would love to finish number one.
02:03They're still in pole position for that.
02:06But they're also going to try to make sure they're healthy for the postseason.
02:10And the silver lining is that you're going to get home court advantage either way.
02:14So I expect them to explore their depth.
02:17I expect them to, you know, make sure guys are healthy and fresh for the playoffs.
02:22We'll see how that evolves once we get to, you know, game five, four remaining of the season.
02:28But absolutely, they're going to make sure they are as healthy as possible for the postseason.
02:32All right, so let's say we get to that two-week period.
02:36He gets re-evaluated and it looks like he's going to miss some playoff time.
02:41Does that now change things for J.B. Bickerstaff?
02:44Like, you know, playoffs are a different beast.
02:48Yeah, I mean, if it comes down to the point where Cade is missing playoff time, I think that puts
02:55the onus on Jalen Duren to be the all-star he's been, right?
02:59Him and Cade were the first duo to represent the Pistons in the all-star game in quite some time.
03:05Duren's averaging about 24 points a game since all-star weekend.
03:08So I think you run more things through him.
03:11I think guys like Danis Jenkins, the former two-way guard, who was brought into a standard contract, his play
03:17becomes a lot more important.
03:19So you just lean on the guys who have stepped up consistently all season.
03:23You can't replace Cade Cunningham, but there are other guys who have played well.
03:27And I think you just lean on them and allow them to step into bigger roles.
03:31Yeah, it's going to be hard to replace Cade's production.
03:36And, I mean, the kid's been absolutely balling out, man.
03:39He's made a name for himself throughout the league.
03:41So this kind of puts his awards chances in jeopardy.
03:46He's played in only 61 games.
03:48Everyone knows he's got to play in at least five more to stay eligible to win any awards.
03:53So when he's reevaluated at that two-week mark, the Pistons will have about six games left.
03:59Do you think J.B. Bickerstaff risks it and plays him, or do you play it safe?
04:07If Cade is fully healthy, I expect that he would play.
04:11Like you said, he's at 61 games played so far.
04:14You've got to get to 65.
04:16Only 60 of his games count because you have to play at least 20 minutes for a game to count.
04:21You do get two flex games between 15 and 20 minutes.
04:24But, I mean, Cade's putting at least 20 minutes in every game except the one he exited on Tuesday when
04:30he got hurt.
04:31So we will see, you know, what that looks like in the final weeks of the season.
04:36But it is unfortunate that you do have the 65-game rule and such a great season by Cunningham could
04:43go unrewarded.
04:45So if he has a chance to go for it, he's fully healthy, there's no risk.
04:48You know, I expect he would.
04:50But if he's less than 100%, you know, they're not going to risk it.
04:54But it's a really tough position to be in, obviously, for him to be as good as he's been and
04:58not have a chance to make it all NBA team.
05:01I need to get the pulse of the city on this one because when the news drop, I feel like
05:06all of Boston and New York hit the streets celebrating,
05:09thinking that he was going to be out for the entire playoffs, I mean, the Pistons have pretty much belted
05:15both of these teams.
05:16Again, they're four games ahead of Boston, five and a half up on the Knicks for that one seed.
05:21But does Cade's injury kind of change how all of Detroit, meaning the team, the fan base, Detroit versus everybody,
05:29does that change how they look at the Knicks and or the Celtics in terms of seeing them in the
05:36playoffs and coming out of the East?
05:39Yeah, I mean, when the news broke yesterday morning that he was going to collapse the bond, the fan base
05:46was pretty hurt about it.
05:48You know, I think understandably, of course, the team, you never want to see something like that happen.
05:54So the hope really is just that he gets healthy.
05:57And I think Pistons fans would love to see the Knicks in the second round.
06:01I think a lot of Knicks fans would love to see the Pistons in the second round or, you know,
06:04Eastern Conference Finals or wherever it ends up.
06:07So by then, like you're looking at the absolute tail end of the window where, you know, Cade would be
06:13healthy, if not beyond that.
06:14So more than likely, you're probably going to get him back for that series.
06:18But I think it's just, you know, for what's been such a good season for the Pistons, for the season
06:24to end with a guy like Cade having to collapse the bond and he's knocked out for a few weeks
06:29at least.
06:31You know, for the fans, I think that's just a tough pill to swallow.
06:34You know, you saw a lot of angst online yesterday.
06:38But the silver lining is that, you know, it's not, you know, the discus, it's not anything more than likely
06:44that'll require surgery.
06:45You know, it's just rest and rehab.
06:47Yeah, in our sports newsroom, when we saw a collapse lung, everybody was like, oh!
06:51And then you saw it re-evaluated in two weeks, you're like, oh!
06:54Oh, people really, we really need the Knicks to hit the NBA Finals this year.
07:00And again, Pistons have been belting these boys throughout the entire season.
07:03Mark, appreciate you hopping on with us this morning, man.
07:06We're going to come back to you in the playoffs for sure, man.
07:11No, absolutely, man.
07:12Looking forward to that.
07:12Thank you for having me.
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