Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishCade Cunningham provides injury update after return in Pistons loss to GrizzliesCade Cunningham in Pistons locker room postgame Sunday, April 5, 2025 at LCA gives injury update on how he’s feeling after his return to the court.Cade Cunningham provided his own injury update Saturday night.Cunningham returned to the court after six games and two weeks on the bench in street clothes, watching his fellow Detroit Pistons teammates go 4-2 to clinch at least a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2008.Cunningham scored 25 points on 24 shots in 28 minutes in the Pistons’ 109-103 loss to the Grizzlies at Little Caesars Arena to fall a stop in the standings to the 6-seed.At his locker room postgame, he was at ease explaining to reporters what kept him sidelined and how he was feeling after his return.”I got hit on my left calf,” Cunningham said (see video atop this article). “And then it made my right calf tighten up a lot. There was just a lot going on. I got sick at the same time. It was trying to battle a lot of different things. Training staff got me right, I feel great now. Feel good going into the playoffs. This was a good game for me to shake off the rust and get ready.”It feels good,” he continued. “Now I guess it’s just more focus now, knowing we’ve got a lot coming ahead. Just trying to make sure we’re all ready for it mentally and physically and that we can put our best foot forward.”WHAT’S IN A NAME: Stephen A. Smith compares Walter Clayton to Pistons’ ‘Wade Cunningham’Cunningham, 23 and a first-time All-Star, has been the team’s guiding light helping to author the sixth-best turnaround in NBA history.He showed improved durability playing in 66 of 71 games before his calf injury, and his 67 games played this season is the most of his career. (He played in 64 as a rookie, 12 the next season and 62 a year ago.) He has played 2,349 minutes in 2024-25, surpassing his rookie-year high of 2,088 by 261 minutes or 5½ NBA games worth.He has played in at least 65 games, making his eligible for regular-season awards. He’s essentially a lock to make any of three All-NBA teams, which will hike his new contract to a supermax at 30% of the cap, roughly $270 million over five years instead of $224 million, starting next season.The Pistons have four games left this week, the next three at home: vs. Kings on Monday, vs. Knicks on Thursday, vs. Bucks on Friday and at Bucks on Sunday.MORE: Pistons stayed afloat without Cade Cunningham. Now they’re focused on playoffsDon’t be surprised to see Cunningham sit one of those as the Pistons (43-35) — a half-game behind the Bucks now and will either be the 5-seed, likely at the 4-seed Pacers, or 6-seed at the 3-seed Knicks — prepare to give his legs a break, then get a week off before the NBA playoffs begin two weekends from now on April 19.Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify).Get ready for the NBA playoffs with the best Pistons coverage at freep.com/sports/pistons.Follow the Detroit Free Press on Instagram (@detroitfreepress), TikTok (@detroitfreepress), YouTube (@DetroitFreePress), X (@freep), and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook (@detroitfreepress).Stay connected and stay informed. Become a Detroit Free Press subscriber.
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