The Detroit Pistons have a majority of their starters on the injury report ahead of their Monday matchup against the OKC Thunder.
With Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart already out of the lineup with lung and calf injuries, the Pistons have also added more starters to the list.
Detroit Pistons Injury Updates: Who Will Play Against the Thunder?
Joining Cunningham and Stewart on the injury list are Jalen Duren (right knee injury management), Tobias Harris (left hip injury management), and sharpshooter Duncan Robinson (right hip injury management), all of whom are listed as doubtful, per the NBA’s official injury report.
Ausar Thompson (right ankle injury management) is questionable, while Isaac Jones, Bobi Klintman, and Wendell Moore Jr. are out on G League duties. This means the Pistons will field most of their bench on Monday.
Cunningham suffered a devastating collapsed lung earlier this month. Duren has been battling a knee issue, but has taken the floor.
Veteran forward Harris and Robinson will also be major absences for Detroit. The aforementioned names are also major contributors on both ends of the court for the side this season.
Cunningham leads the Pistons in scoring and assists with 24.5 points and 9.9 assists per game. Duren is the team’s second-leading scorer with a career-best 19.3 points per game and the rebounding leader with 10.6 rebounds per contest. Harris and Robinson are averaging 13.4 and 11.9 points, respectively.
Despite the injuries, the Pistons are still one of the teams to beat. They are on a two-game winning run after their 109-87 walloping of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Harris was among the names discussing the team’s mindset despite missing Cunningham.
“It’s a huge stretch for us,” Harris said of the Pistons’ final regular-season stretch, per The Athletic. “We obviously have a great group that trusts one another. We come into the locker room, and every day we get together, we expect to go out to these games and win.
“We just expect to give ourselves a chance every night by how hard we play. We know we’re waiting for guys to get back healthy, come back and help us in the run we’re trying to make.”
“We’ve been winning games this season based on how hard we play and our defensive effort, so we know what we’re capable of on a nightly basis,” he added. “We just stick to the script.”
Sticking to the script has indeed helped the 54-20 Pistons. With eight games remaining, they will most likely finish as the top seed in the East, even as the second-seeded Boston Celtics look to make a late surge. After the Thunder matchup, the Pistons return home to host the Toronto Raptors and the Timberwolves again.
