Cade Cunningham — in the midst of an MVP-level season and the driving force of the Pistons' offense — will miss extended time due to a collapsed lung, the team announced Thursday morning.

Cunningham had left the Pistons' last game in the first quarter, minutes after colliding with rookie Wizards' Tre Johnson going for a loose ball. He did not return to the game, which the team at the time called back spasms. In announcing the injury, the Pistons said that "After further testing, Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has been diagnosed with a left lung pneumothorax." ESPN’s Shams Charania was first with the report of the injury.

The team says he will be re-evaluated in two weeks, although he is likely out longer than that. A pneumothorax (collapsed lung) is uncommon in the NBA, although it has happened — CJ McCollum has had it twice — and the average missed time is around 26 days and 11 missed games, reports Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes. The Pistons have 25 days left in their season. It should be noted that's the average, the first time McCollum dealt with this injury, he missed 18 games.

It's a harsh blow for Cunningham and the Pistons, who sit atop the Eastern Conference with 14 games left to play. The Pistons' offense falls off a cliff when Cunningham is not on the court. With Cunningham, they have one of the best offenses in the NBA (121.5 net rating, via basketball-reference.com), but that drops off to 112 without him, which would be bottom five in the league. That said, thanks to their elite defense, the Pistons still have a +2.7 net rating when Cunningham is off the court this season.

Detroit has a 3.5 game lead over Boston for the No. 1 seed in the East, and while that had seemed safe, without Cunningham, that feels like it's in play. The Pistons have a fairly average remaining schedule, with a .502 winning percentage among the remaining teams (via Elias Sports Bureau) and a few tanking teams on the schedule, including the Washington Wizards tonight (Thursday). If Cunningham misses as much time as McCallum did with his first collapsed lung, he could miss all or part of the first round of the playoffs, although ESPN's Charania reports there is "optimism" he would be back for the playoffs.

Cunningham has been mentioned in MVP conversations and very likely was headed toward landing in the top five in MVP voting and first-team All-NBA. Cunningham has played in 61 games this season — it is very possible he does not play in enough games to reach the 65-game threshold set by the league in the latest CBA to qualify for any postseason awards.

While Cunningham is out, look for Marcus Sasser, Daniss Jenkins, and Caris LeVert to do a lot more ball-handling and play-making.