Yesterday, the Detroit Pistons pulled off an unbelievable upset, defeating the Thunder, who are presently tied for first place in the Western Conference, 120-104.
The crazy part is that they pulled it off without Cade Cunningham in the starting lineup and at the end of a back-to-back, which made all of the Cade haters and doubters burst forth from the shadows like vengeful termites.
I knew from away that The Conversation would involve whether Cade Cunningham makes the Pistons better or not.
It is hard to argue that the club is better without Cade because he is their top player, but even so, they have won three of their six games this season when he has been benched.
That was more, in my opinion, related to the deal that added Mike Muscala to help steady the bench and removed Isaiah Livers from the starting lineup. However, the team’s record without Cade Cunningham this season is 3-6, so does this idea have some merit?
Cade has missed nine games this season, and the Pistons are 3–34 in the 37 games he has participated in.
It’s difficult to argue that the offense is superior when Cade Cunningham isn’t playing, as the offensive rating falls from 117.1 to 110.7 overall, but we’ll discuss that more in a moment.
There is little change in the defensive rating, which goes from 120.7 to 121.8. Either with or without Cade Cunningham, they have appalling defensive play.
However, things become more intriguing when you examine the figures in more detail.
This season, the Pistons have averaged 25.7 assists per game while Cade has been in and 28.9 assists when he has not. This suggests that the ball movement could be improved if Cunningham isn’t controlling almost every possession.
With Cade off the court, the Pistons’ field goal percentage soars to 46.7 from 46.7, and their 3-point % rises to 39.4 from 34.2. Since Cunningham has only missed nine games, these are small sample sizes. Additionally, six of these games occurred after the Pistons bench was strengthened generally following the deal, which has increased those figures.
The Pistons performed better in the eye test yesterday night, moving the ball more effectively, Jaden Ivey playing with greater freedom and purpose, and there were less mistakes and bad possessions. In addition, this season the Pistons have committed three fewer turnovers per game on average when Cade has not played.
However, I blamed the coaches and not Cade Cunningham for it.
Although Cade Cunningham is not the issue, changes must be made.
The way the Pistons execute their offense with Cade Cunningham on the field appears to be the problem. In a heliocentric offense where Cade enters the mid-range or paint and either takes his shot or fouls out when the double is applied, they have attempted to pin him down to a Luka Doncic role.
This results in numerous possessions during which the other players just stand beyond the 3-point line, waiting for Cade to pass the ball, without moving off the ball or cutting to the hoop. When the defender swarms, it also results in a lot of turnovers. Part of the solution is for Cade to get more adept at identifying these situations, and part of it is scheme-related.
The possessions where Cunningham dribbles under the basket and emerges on the other side as everyone else watches him like he’s Teen Wolf are particularly worrisome.
It doesn’t make sense to use Cade in this manner because he is a selfless player who can have an influence both on and off the ball. When Cade Cunningham returns, it would be great to see more ball and player movement, so hopefully slow-ride After witnessing his team’s explosive offensive performance last night without his greatest player in the lineup, Monty Williams comes to this realization.
In other words, no, the Detroit Pistons are not better without Cade Cunningham, but they are different and have much to learn from their past achievements.
