Pistons' Cade Cunningham to debut against Orlando Magic

It's been 40 years to the day since Pistons legend Isiah Thomas played his first league game for the franchise. Is there a hint of destiny to Cunningham's first game?

Cade Cunningham debuts for Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are set to officially begin a new chapter, as they hand No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham his debut against the Orlando Magic on Saturday night. Head coach Dwane Casey made the announcement ahead of the game which tips off at 7 p.m.ET. Cunningham's first appearance comes only now as he was absent for the entire preseason and the first four games of the regular season due to a sprained ankle which he picked up in training camp. On friday the Pistons' new star was able to participate in team drills, after which he was the green light to play. There will, however, be a restriction of 20-25 minutes placed on his court time.

Pistons' coach Dwane Casey speaks on Cunningham

Speaking on his player's coming game coach Casey was encouraging in his words. "He told me yesterday that he's been playing since he was 4 so 'do what you do since you were 4." Casey went on, "...so, have fun, compete and don't worry about mistakes, next-play mentality. Again, we all in this room are grownups and we understand that he feels the pressure, but he shouldn't. He should go out and have fun, compete and let everything else take care of itself as he knocks off the rust and gets back in full swing."

Casey went on to add that there should be no pressure placed on Cunningham to come in and "save the day."

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"We're not 0-4 because of Cade Cunningham," he stated. "It's 0-4 because of us and things we've got to do better and do longer in that situation against really good teams."

The Pistons will undoubtedly be hoping that their rookie can help them avoid their first 0-5 start since the season of 2012/13.