The Detroit Pistons were already the worst team in the NBA before they lost leading scorer Jerami Grant for at least six weeks with a thumb injury.
Grant tumbled to the court in the second quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and that’s when he initially suffered an UCL injury in his right thumb. He returned to action in the second half with his thumb taped up by the training staff. Grant was in obvious pain but finished the game with 11 points. He struggled to find his shot with a 5-for-14 clip from the field. The Pistons lost to the Pelicans by 16 points and slipped to 4-21 on the season.
Grant underwent an MRI to inspect his injury, which revealed a sprained UCL ligament in his thumb. He’s currently out indefinitely, but will be re-evaluated in six weeks.
NEWS: The #Pistons announced today that test results performed yesterday on Jerami Grant’s hand revealed a UCL ligament sprain of the right thumb. The injury occurred during the second quarter of our game at New Orleans on December 10. (1/2)
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) December 12, 2021
Grant leads the Pistons with 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game this season. Before his injury, the Pistons were shopping Grant for a potential trade.
Not only do the Pistons have the worst record in the league, but they’re also bogged down in an 11-game losing streak. With only four wins this season, the Pistons have yet to win more than one game in a row.
The Pistons started the season on the wrong foot with a four-game losing streak. They were 1-8 by the first week of November and it looked like it was going to be another long season in the Big D. The Pistons last won a game in mid-November when they ambushed the Indiana Pacers 97-89. No shocker here, but the Pistons are one of the worst road teams in the NBA this season.
Next Man Up: Lyles
The immediate future looks grim for the Pistons with upcoming games against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. They host the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday and then head to Chicago to play the Bulls on Tuesday. The Pistons are the second-lowest scoring team in the NBA averaging 99.5 ppg this season. Without their leading scorer in Grant, the Pistons will scramble to find a consistent scorer.
The Pistons also have a couple of other young and talented, yet inexperienced players such as Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, and Isaiah Stewart.
The Pistons hit the lottery and were awarded the #1 pick in the NBA Draft last season. They selected Cunningham out of Oklahoma State. Cunningham sprained his ankle in the preseason, and his NBA debut was delayed a week. In 20 games this season, Cunningham averages 15.3 ppg as the team’s second-best scorer.
Power forward Trey Lyles will most likely start in place of Grant. He averages 7.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench this season. Rookie Luke Garza (3.7 ppg, 2.1 rebounds) has been buried at the end of the bench, but the big man could finally crack the rotation and see the light of day with Grant sidelined for the next six weeks or more.
