Cade Cunningham celebrated his first All-Star selection for the Detroit Pistons by dropping 40 points on the Dallas Mavericks, and more importantly, got the win.
It put the Pistons back in the 6th seed for now, but the Eastern Conference standings are bunched up 6-9 and change nearly every day, so it’s a precarious spot.
Detroit got the win without Isaiah Stewart, who was serving out a suspension on his own bobblehead night, which is about the most Pistons’ thing I’ve ever heard. The mantra was “Free Beef Stew” and his teammates rallied in his absence.
Mostly because of Cade Cunningham, who scored 40 points on 17-of-30 shooting, and as per usual didn’t get much help from the refs, only shooting three free throws, which is not normal for a guy who scored 40 points in the game.
He hit big shots all night and held Dallas off every time they made a run, which allowed his teammates to seal the game in the 4th while he was on the bench.
But there was a stretch of 2 minutes 42 seconds of the 3rd quarter, where Cunningham flashed exactly why he’s an All-Star and it happened at a crucial time of the game.
Cade Cunningham: The Pull-up 3-pointer
The Mavericks were in a groove nearing the end of the 3rd quarter and were trying to cut the lead down heading into the 4th.
With 2:42 left, Cunningham got a screen, which the Mavs promptly switched. When the second defender didn’t close fast enough, Cunningham simply pulled up and drained a 3-pointer, which has probably been the biggest addition to his game this season.
This was not a shot we saw much of from Cade early in his career, but after putting on extra strength, it’s one that he regularly hits, and one that has opened up other parts of his game, as defenders can’t leave him out there anymore.
The gravity
Even though this didn’t end in points for the Pistons, the next offensive possession showed what Cade does to help his teammates and himself.
When three defenders descended on Cade, he quickly got rid of it after the collapse, leaving Dallas trying to scramble to get back to their men.
The Pistons just whipped it around the perimeter with some nice ball movement back to Cade Cunningham, who got a wide-open three when the defense couldn’t recover.
He missed the shot, but it was his early read that set up the wide-open look (for himself), something that he’s been doing all season.
The baby hook
After Dallas had cut the lead to six, Cade went down, promptly beat Hardy off the dribble, and took on the two defenders who stepped up.
Cunningham held them off with his body and put up what has become his signature shot, the baby hook. With his size, this shot is almost impossible to stop, especially with a guard.
He still needs to hit more shots around the rim, but his baby hook is one of the most unstoppable shots in the NBA and a big reason he’s made the leap this season.
Cade Cunningham the bully
If you go back and look at pictures of Cade in his rookie season, it’s amazing how much his body has changed. He is bigger, stronger and very difficult for one defender to stop.
He’s difficult for five defenders to stop, which Dallas found out on the last play of the quarter, where Cade took on the whole team, battled through about four uncalled fouls, and hit a tough hook with his left hand.
Cunningham’s ability to use both hands to finish has been another addition to his game this season (at least doing it consistently) and that last play showed how much better he’s gotten at finishing through contact even though he still doesn’t get any calls.
On a side note: During these last 2 minutes, 42 seconds, Cunningham defended Kyrie Irving, Naji Marshall and PJ Washington successfully. His improvement on defense gets overlooked but Cunningham has developed into a true two-way star.