Right now, there are two big topics in the NBA. One is that the league has continued to charge ahead in their efforts to expand to 32 teams, adding franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle. The second is NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s installation of the increasingly unpopular 65-game rule, with Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham now a potential victim of the draconian measures. Despite leading the once woebegone franchise to the top of the Eastern Conference ladder, four games (courtesy of a collapsed lung) could prevent him from claiming well-earned end-of-season awards.
Of course, the Pistons’ motor isn’t the only player that’s been affected by the rule.
With the exception of Cunningham, these are players who have been available for at least 45 games but who have played no more than 55 games to this point of the season. As most teams have just around a dozen games remaining on their schedule, their margin for injury is as slim as it can be. Or, worse, the door has already closed.
