Detroit Pistons: 5 things to look for in Cade Cunningham vs. Jalen Green 1

The Detroit Pistons will take on the Houston Rockets in the 2nd game of Summer League, which will be the first matchup of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green.

Things are already getting testy around the Twitter-verse, with some fans acting as if a meaningless game in Summer League is going to define the career trajectories of two players who just met their teammates a few weeks ago.

Cade Cunningham was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the overall number one pick, but of course there is a small (but very angry and loud) minority of people who think Troy Weaver is a fool for passing on Jalen Green.

This happens every year, especially in the age of Twitter, which is tailor-made for hot takes and showing everyone how dumb they are while revealing your personal genius.

I’m honestly to the point that I wish Summer League were held in a secret bunker with no cameras so that I didn’t have to listen to idiots project the career of a teenager after looking at the box score of a game that doesn’t count that featured mostly players who won’t be in the NBA.

Grumpy old man rant over.

Here are some things to watch and remember during tonight’s game between the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets.

Detroit Pistons: Rivalries are fun and Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green could have a great one

I grew up in the era of NBA rivalries. I still hate the Bulls. I will never forgive the Lakers. The Celtics? Don’t get me started.

This has dissipated over the years as players change teams more often and take their fans with them. It’s hard to have rivalries when rosters shuffle so much and the social media age has given birth to the “Stan,” a strange creature that likes one player but often not the team they are on.

Jalen Green set the tone for this future rivalry when he put Detroit on blast for not drafting him.

Even though it is my favorite team he is threatening, I loved this from Green. The NBA needs more rivalries, and Houston vs. Detroit could be a great one as both Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green have the potential to be superstars and fans are never going to stop debating who is better.

On one hand, this is great, as I can’t wait for the Detroit Pistons to play meaningful games against an enemy, but on the other hand…

Detroit Pistons: It’s Summer League!  Relax.

To me, Skip Bayless represents everything that has gone wrong in sports’ media over the last decade. Because the landscape is so competitive, sports’ “analysts” decided that yelling louder and making more outlandish comments was the only way to get attention.

I had to un-mute Bayless to see this, but it’s hard for me to believe that any serious or credible sports analyst could write this with a straight face.

We’re really make career projections after one Summer League game?

This is the height of absurdity. Henry Ellenson dominated Summer League, as did Stanley Johnson and Austin Daye. Remember them?

I can’t stress how much Summer League does not matter in the grand scheme of things, as guys are playing with teammates they just met, most of whom won’t actually be on the roster.

I don’t care if Jalen Green puts up 50 points tonight and Cade Cunningham scores zero. It’s not an indication of who they are going to be, and if you think it is, well, I just have to ask: How are you reading this Skip Bayless? I thought blocked you.

Hot take Summer League overreaction Twitter may be my least favorite part of Twitter.

Detroit Pistons: The Athleticism of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green

One of the biggest takes from the first Summer League game was that Jalen Green is an explosive athlete and Cade Cunningham isn’t.

I always find it hilarious when pudgy dudes sucking on a 64 ounce Big Gulp who burn most of their calories circling a buffet table are talking about the “poor athleticism” of a superhuman, but I digress.

Green is absolutely explosive. He has a first step that most players would kill for and he is going jump out of the gym some nights.

In comparison, Cade Cunningham looks slow, more methodical and in my opinion, more thoughtful on the court.

Comparing the athleticism of the two is pointless, as they are very different players. It’s like comparing Luka Doncic to Ja Morant.

By the way, all the same things about “athleticism” were said about Luka Doncic, who is the frontrunner for MVP this season and just signed a $200 million rookie extension.

This isn’t track and field, there is more to basketball than just who can run faster or jump higher. Although I love the rivalry and hope these two have some scintillating head-to-head matchups, they are not the same player and are not expected to the same things.

Detroit Pistons: The Scorer vs. the Human Connector

I am going on record as saying that I think Jalen Green will average more points than Cade Cunningham this season and possibly for their entire careers.

I am also on record as saying I don’t care.

Scoring is not the only facet of the game of basketball, so while Green might be an electric scorer, I think Cunningham will be better at pretty much everything else.

What was overlooked in Cade Cunningham’s poor shooting performance was that he filled the stat sheet otherwise, flashed signs of superstar-level defense and had about ten passes that should have been assists.

He still ended the game with a very good stat line, yet most fans were just focused on the fact that Jalen Green scored more.

This is going to be a reoccurring theme as fans who don’t actually watch the games look at box scores for their information and draw conclusions by who scored more points.

Cade Cunningham’s biggest strength is elevating his teammates, in being what Troy Weaver called a “human connector.” He may end up being an elite scorer as well, but he’s going to do so much more.

I’m not ruling out that Jalen Green could be this guy as well, but for how, he’s just going to be asked to be a scorer and he’s going to be very good at it.

Detroit Pistons: Ultimately the numbers in Summer League are meaningless

Here’s a weird fact: Young guys play better when they are surrounded with better teammates!

Crazy, I know.

Summer League rosters are full of talented young players, and they are also full of guys who are never going to sniff an NBA roster.

These players are trying to prove they belong, which leads to a lot of bad shot chucking as players try to get their own and earn a roster invite.

I don’t want to pile on Tyler Cook, but he missed a bunch of Cade Cunningham’s passes in game one, passes that guys like Jerami Grant, Isaiah Stewart and Kelly Olynyk would have flushed.

If Cade had 8 assists instead of two would the silly narrative have been different after game 1 of Summer League? Yep.

That’s why it’s so misguided to put any stock in these numbers, as they are not a reflection of what is going to happen in the regular season when Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green are playing with their actual teammates who are real NBA players.

So can we all just enjoy two really good young players and not read too much into one meaningless Summer League game?

I didn’t think so.