Detroit Pistons: How Cade Cunningham will help Saddiq Bey’s defense
Saddiq Bey came into the NBA with the reputation as a hard-nosed defender with size who could guard multiple spots and he didn’t disappoint.
Even though he was a rookie, Bey was often given the tough defensive assignments on the wing, something that is not likely to change because of the addition of Cade Cunningham, but there will be ways Cade will help.
The Pistons are going to have a long, athletic and versatile team on defense that will be able to switch on just about everyone. The addition of Cunningham will add another tall and willing defender to the perimeter, which should make things a bit easier on Bey, who won’t be trying to cover point guards who had a hard time keeping teams out of the lane last season.
Cade’s size on the perimeter will take some of the pressure off Bey to always guard the best wing, as Cunningham can also take on some of those tough defensive assignments and the Pistons shouldn’t lose much when they switch on the pick-and-roll.
With Cunningham holding down more of the perimeter, Bey can focus on being an elite wing stopper, the guy who guards the best player, and since he’ll have better defenders around him, that job should be easier.
There are going to be fewer mismatches, which should allow Bey to lock down his guy without having to worry about covering for anyone else. The Detroit Pistons have a chance to have one of the best perimeter defenses in the NBA with Hayes and Cunningham allowing Bey to focus completely on his own assignment.