Cunningham leads the Pistons with 24.5 points and 9.9 assists a game and also has 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest.
The 24-year-old American guard left Tuesday’s 130-117 victory at Washington in the first quarter with what was thought to be back spasms as he dove for a loose ball and collided with Wizards guard Tre Johnson.
“After further testing, Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has been diagnosed with a left lung pneumothorax,” the Pistons said in a statement. “He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.”
That means Cunningham will miss at least eight games for the Pistons as they cling to the top seed in the East for the upcoming NBA playoffs.
At 49-19, the Pistons lead Boston (46-23) by 3.5 games in the East.
Cunningham will miss games against Washington, Golden State, Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta, New Orleans, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Toronto.
His earliest possible return would be April 2 in a home game against Minnesota.
The Pistons have not won a playoff series since 2008. They have only reached the playoffs three times since 2009 and had not managed a winning season since 2016 until last year, when they fell to the Knicks in the first round. (AFP)
Edited by Cecil Wong
