DETROIT — Since picking up a right wrist injury earlier this month, Cade Cunningham hasn’t always known whether taking a shot would cause him pain.
The Detroit Pistons guard took a hard fall against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 4, when he says the injury started, and a physical game against the New York Knicks the next day led to him taking two games off to try and settle the contusion.
But even upon his return, Cunningham was clearly out of sorts as he shot just 30% from the field and 11% from three in his next four games, often sporting a brace or wrapping on his wrist.
“It’s been hard. It’s been a battle as far as like mentally as far as figuring out, how I could help us,” Cunningham told reporters Sunday. “(I was) not liking how I felt shooting and just constantly flinching when I was shooting because I didn’t know how I would feel. It was hurting sometimes. Sometimes I’d be able to release and the ball would come out fine.”
It took time, but Cunningham is hopeful he finally turned a corner after putting up 29 points on 13-of-22 shooting in Detroit’s 139-116 win over the Sacramento Kings.
There were no signs of any ailment as he showcased his scoring versatility with drives to the rim, a few tough midrange shots under tight defense and a 3-of-5 finish from beyond the arc.
“It felt great. Felt great this morning, felt great last night,” Cunningham said. “It’s cool to be able to come out and just know I wanted to be aggressive and and get some reps over with it.”
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised how Cunningham had continued to compete through the contusion. They determined that the injury couldn’t get worse from continuing to play and it was about pain tolerance and willingness to keep going from Cunningham.
He said some games it didn’t make sense when the pain was too high, like Jan. 21 against the New Orleans Pelicans, but he had played another three games — all ending up in Detroit wins — already nursing the injury.
The Pistons picked up the slack without Cunningham, going 2-1 over the recent three games he was inactive, moving the team’s record without him this season to 5-1.
But, his teammates were more than happy to see him back out and thriving on the court Sunday as he seemed to get his shot back, while dishing out 11 assists, nabbing five rebounds, three steals and one block.
“He does what he needs to do to get the team to win,” center Jalen Duren said. “If he was unable to, I don’t think he would play. But since he’s out there, I think he’s gonna continue to do whatever he can to make the team win.”
With a bounce-back performance — for Cunningham and the Pistons following a loss to the Houston Rockets — the main hope for Cunningham is that this wrist injury is behind him.
The Pistons will need their All-Star guard at his best for their upcoming road trip out West against the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors.