Detroit's Long Walk Back — How the Pistons Became the East's Best Team

The Lung That Could Break Everything

Here's where I pump the brakes a little — because this story has a complication, and it's a serious one. On March 17, Cade Cunningham dove for a loose ball against Washington, took a collision, and left the game laboring for breath. Two days later, the Pistons confirmed what everyone feared: collapsed lung. Pneumothorax, left side [3]. He's been out since, watching games in street clothes from the bench, not yet cleared for contact. The Pistons announced on April 4 that he'd be re-evaluated around April 10 — just days before the playoffs tip off on April 18 [3]. Now, the Pistons have actually been solid without him — 11-4 since the injury. Credit the supporting cast for stepping up when it mattered. But "solid without your star in late March" and "ready for a playoff series against a motivated opponent" are two very different things. The Eastern bracket is not soft: Cleveland, Boston, Miami, and potentially Indiana are all capable of making life miserable if you're not operating at full strength.

We defer completely to the medical staff. We want Cade back, obviously. But we're not going to rush anything. The health comes first.

— Detroit Pistons head coach

That's the right answer. It's also the anxious answer, because "defer to the medical staff" is front-office speak for "we genuinely don't know." What we do know is that mild pneumothorax in athletes typically carries a 3-to-6 week recovery window [3]. From March 19, that puts his potential return right at the edge of the playoff opener. A best-case scenario has him suiting up for Game 1 at something like 70%. Worst case, he misses the first round entirely. Detroit being 11-4 without him is encouraging. It is not a reason to be comfortable.

The Bigger Question: Can This Group Survive a Seven-Game Series?

Even with Cade healthy, there's a conversation worth having about playoff inexperience. This Pistons roster has almost zero postseason mileage. They made the playoffs last year but exited early. The young core — Cunningham, Duren, and their key rotation pieces — haven't been tested in a best-of-seven grind against a team that knows exactly how to target your weaknesses. That's not a knock, it's just reality. The regular season rewards consistency. The playoffs reward adaptability. They're different sports wearing the same uniform [2]. Compare Detroit to San Antonio, the No. 2 seed in the West at 58-18. The Spurs also have no meaningful playoff experience — Victor Wembanyama's entire team has logged almost no postseason minutes since 2019. But Wemby is already in the MVP conversation and leads the league in blocks. If there's an inexperienced team that should terrify you in a playoff series, it's one built around a 22-year-old alien. Oklahoma City proved last year that inexperience isn't a death sentence when you have elite talent. Detroit is betting on the same logic.

What Detroit Actually Has Going For It

Let's not spiral too far into the doom. The Pistons have built something real, and they have genuine strengths heading into April. Jalen Duren is averaging a double-double and making life miserable for opposing centers. Their three-point shooting has improved dramatically from two seasons ago. Their defensive identity is set — they're not a team that panics when the other side goes on a run [2]. And if Cade Cunningham returns at anything close to full strength, they have a legitimate All-Star-caliber guard running the offense. There's also the intangible: this team has been through the fire. You don't come out of a 28-game losing streak the same franchise. You either get broken by it or you build an edge because of it. Everything about how the Pistons have played this season — the composure, the sense of purpose — suggests they got the edge [1].

• Detroit clinched the Central Division title with a 127-116 win over Toronto
• The Pistons' magic number for the No. 1 seed is 2 — with a 4-4.5 game lead over Boston
• Cade Cunningham's re-evaluation is expected around April 10, with playoffs beginning April 18
• The team has gone 11-4 without Cunningham since the March 19 injury diagnosis
• Jalen Duren and the supporting cast have carried the load — but a playoff series is a different test entirely

The Bottom Line

The Detroit Pistons are the best story in basketball right now. Not because they're the most talented team — they're probably not. Not because their playoff path is smooth — it isn't. But because what they've built is meaningful, and because watching a franchise climb back from the floor of the NBA is genuinely compelling in a way that most sports stories aren't. If Cade comes back healthy, Detroit is dangerous. Like, legitimately dangerous. They have the record, they have the home court, and they have a team that's been playing with urgency all season. If he misses significant playoff time, it gets hard — but they've shown they can compete without him. One way or another, the Pistons are worth watching this April. After 18 years of waiting, Detroit has earned that much.