Cade Cunningham (collapsed lung) and Anthony Edwards (right knee inflammation) have both missed several NBA games in the past week as they recover from their respective injuries.
While their teams haven’t necessarily suffered in their absence, the front offices of the Pistons and the Timberwolves have received some good news on their respective star players.
NBA Insider Shams Charania appeared on ESPN’s NBA Countdown and dropped the latest timelines on the return to action for both these players.
“I’m told that the Detroit Pistons are optimistic, and there is hope internally that Cade Cunningham would be able to return on time for the start of the NBA playoffs.”
“But right now, he’s just one week removed from the collapsed lung, so he’s still in the recovery process. He’s starting to do some small steps in the facility, do some small light work in the weight room, but he still has to recover from the collapsed lung.”
“The Pistons, I’m told, will have a complete and exact sense of the timeline for Cade Cunningham in the next one to two weeks,” concluded Charania on Cunningham. Subsequently, Mallika Andrews asked him to give the latest update on Anthony Edwards.
“The Timberwolves will be evaluating Anthony Edwards day-to-day moving forward. So he could return as soon as Saturday’s home game against the Pistons or Monday in Dallas.”
“What he’s been dealing with, from my understanding, is some soreness, fluid, and some inflammation in his knee. He needed treatment to get some of the fluid out of that knee, but now he’s progressing; he’s starting to do more and more on the court.”
“All parties involved here are optimistic that he’s trending in the right direction over the next several days,” said Charania.
So far this season, Cunningham has averaged 24.5 points, 9.9 assists, and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 46.1% from the field and 34.6% from beyond the arc. As the leader of the No. 1 team in the East, Cunningham was making a strong case for the Michael Jordan MVP Award.
But unfortunately, he will end up falling 5 games short of the benchmark, as he played 60 eligible games (played only three minutes in one game, which doesn’t count as an eligible game in the race for the postseason awards).
Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards has averaged 29.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting at a 49.2% efficiency from the floor and 40.2% from the three-point line.
Both teams have had winning records in the absence of these players. The Pistons have been 8-2 without Cunningham, and the Timberwolves have been 9-5 without Edwards.
But that does not mean these two are not essential for their respective teams. Both teams are so deep overall that the next man up for each of them is nearly just as good as the person they replace. Nonetheless, getting such optimistic news is a positive sign for both franchises.
