Eastern Conference wide open for Celtics, Knicks after latest Pistons injury news

Securing the top seed in a conference is important because it guarantees home court advantage throughout the first three rounds of the postseason, at least.

In the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons have been in pole position for virtually the entirety of the current campaign. However, they’ve hit a bit of a rough patch.

The Eastern Conference feels open after the injury to Cade Cunningham 

The Pistons have gone just 5-5 over their last 10 games, and now they’ll be without their offensive engine for the foreseeable future. Star guard Cade Cunningham has been diagnosed with a collapsed lung and he’s expected to miss an extended chunk of time as a result.

It might not be a season-ending injury for Cunningham, but with less than a month remaining in the regular season, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll return at all prior to postseason play.

Without Cunningham, it will likely be difficult for Detroit to maintain their position atop the standings in the East, which opens the door for teams like the Boston Celtics or New York Knicks to potentially supplant them as the conference’s’ top team record-wise.

Here’s how things currently look at the top of the conference:

1. Detroit Pistons: 49-19

2. Boston Celtics: 46-23 (3.5 games behind Detroit)

3. New York Knicks: 45-25 (5 games)

4. Cleveland Cavaliers: 42-27 (7.5 games)

Obviously the Celtics currently have the best chance of catching/passing the Pistons in the standings. They’re just 3.5 games behind Detroit and they have been playing some very good basketball as of late.

Boston has won 7 of its last 10 games, and star forward Jayson Tatum is continuing to work himself back into full form after an extended absence due to an Achilles tear. Then there’s the Knicks, who are just five games behind Detroit and have also won seven out of their last 10 contests.

Both teams should smell blood in the water following the news of Cunningham’s injury and both should be supremely motivated to try to make a final charge up the standings. The Celtics have 13 regular season games remaining, while the Knicks have 12.

The Cavaliers are probably a little too far back to catch and surpass Detroit at this latter point of the season, but it isn’t mathematically impossible, so don't count them out completely. 

With so much at stake when it comes to the standings in the East, the final few weeks of the regular season should be extremely interesting. 

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