At this juncture in the regular season, every team in the league is fighting a mostly-losing battle to stay healthy. For the Detroit Pistons, the injury bug recently bit Isaiah Stewart (left calf strain), and Cade Cunningham fell under an even more unpredictable ailment (collapsed lung) over the past two weeks. 

For the most part, the Pistons have steered clear of major catastrophic injuries for much of the 2025-26 campaign, so these injury woes are relatively mild compared to some other injury reports across the league. What Cunningham’s untimely injury does do, however, is allow for the Pistons to find another hot hand heading into the postseason, and it looks like they’ve done just that in Daniss Jenkins. 

After a career-high 30-point outburst versus the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, Jenkins is doing his best to keep the Pistons’ five-game lead in the East safe, and he’ll have another tall task later tonight against an in-form Atlanta Hawks squad. 

From Detroit’s side of the matchup, the Pistons will be without both Cunningham and Stewart for another game as the important pair continue to rest up with the playoffs around the corner. Stewart is closer to returning than Cunningham is, but the Pistons are not primed to rush either back into action. 

Apart from those issues, Detroit is closely monitoring Marcus Sasser to see if they’ll have a true backup point guard available for tonight. Sasser has been out with right hip soreness recently, and he carries a doubtful designation at the moment. As for Javonte Green, the veteran is listed as questionable due to a sprained left ankle, but he’s the most likely to suit up out of the bunch. 

Update: Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris were both late additions to the injury report, but they're probable to play at the moment. 

With regards to the Hawks, Jalen Johnson is the premier name to watch on the injury report in the leadup to tonight’s battle. Johnson missed the Hawks’ last game, which was a lopsided win over the Memphis Grizzlies, with a shoulder injury, so the talented young Duke product could swing tonight’s outcome depending on his availability. Right now, Johnson is listed as questionable according to ESPN. 

Though it took some time for him to settle in post-Trade Deadline, Kevin Huerter has looked like a talented, skilled addition to the Pistons over the last 10 games. Billed as a marksman from long-range, Huerter has shown that he’s a capable, responsible defender who moves his feet and can force turnovers as an on-ball defender at the point of attack, which is a wildly valuable quality on a defense-first Detroit squad.

On top of that defensive willingness, Huerter has also shown quality playmaking ability and basketball IQ on the other hand, and the veteran wing has watched his plus/minus soar over the past two weeks. 

With Cunningham out of the lineup for the next several games in all likelihood, Dynatyze prepared a graphic that shows Huerter’s plus/minus over the last 10 games juxtaposed next to his predicted impact over the next 10 games with respect to season-long variance. What the data shows is that Huerter fits the profile of a player who can work themselves into a rhythm right at the transition point between the regular season and the playoffs, which would be ideal timing for a Pistons group that could use another talented floor spacer for the postseason. 

Over the past week, Huerter has functioned as one of the first players off the bench for the Pistons, so he's clearly earning the trust of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff as well. The All-Star coach has spoken glowingly about Huerter during press conferences over the last month, so the former Chicago Bull seems to have settled into his new surroundings at a crucial time with the playoffs just three weeks away. 

As for tonight's matchup against the Hawks, Huerter could provide the spark off the bench that the Pistons are looking for to keep the pressure on Atlanta. Recently, the Pistons have even experimented with playing Huerter and Duncan Robinson on the court together at the same time to give Detroit even more of a potent threat from the perimeter, and that's a look that the Pistons could turn to in the postseason. Tonight's contest with the Hawks would be as good of a time as any to test that combination with so many names appearing on the Detroit injury report for the time being. 

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