Pistons seal East’s No. 1 seed with Cunningham sidelined
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The Detroit Pistons have clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference, securing home-court advantage for the entire conference postseason with Saturday’s 116-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Detroit wrapped up the milestone despite being without franchise guard Cade Cunningham, who is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a collapsed lung. The club has posted a 7-2 record since the injury, with both defeats coming in overtime.
Production has been spread across the rotation in Cunningham’s absence. Center Jalen Duren has shouldered a larger scoring load, while guard Daniss Jenkins has taken on more playmaking duties. Players also cited an intensified commitment on defense during the nine-game span.
“With Cade here we were more relaxed, but since he’s been gone we all gathered around,” forward Ausar Thompson said. “We had to make up for less offense on the defensive side.”
The Pistons have ranked among the league’s stingiest defenses over the stretch and limited Philadelphia to fewer than 100 points in Saturday’s clinching win.
“Cade goes out. We didn’t take the back-seat mentality,” forward Tobias Harris added, according to ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill. “Let’s go show everybody we can ball.”
Cunningham is scheduled to be reevaluated within a week and could return at the start of the playoffs.
“Super excited,” Thompson told ESPN. “I can’t wait to have him back.”
Source: Hoops Wire
