Cade Cunningham vs. Evan Mobley in Pistons comeback win

Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons overcame a brutal start to get a comeback win over Evan Mobley and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It looked like a “here we go again” type of night for the Pistons early on, as they got down 15-0 and Cunningham couldn’t make a shot.

They used a hot first half from Frank Jackson and the bench (more on that in a minute) to get back into it before it turned into Cade time down the stretch.

After an embarrassing loss to Orlando in which the Pistons showed no heart, this was a refreshing change, as Detroit never stopped battling in this one until they took their first lead late in the 4th quarter.

Cunningham was amazing even though he struggled shooting the ball, and didn’t let an ice-cold start take him out of the game, which you love to see.

In many ways this game was a microcosm of the Cade Cunningham vs. Evan Mobley debate and it was nice to see the Pistons come out on top this time.

Here are three takeaways from a wild one at Little Caesar’s Arena.

Pistons play big against giant Cavaliers

The Cavs zigged while everyone else has been zagging and built a giant team with two seven footers the starting lineup.

Evan Mobley’s versatility made this possible, as he can play the four with Jarrett Allen without sacrificing spacing and offense on the other end.

But the Pistons won all of the “big man” stats last night, with a 48-41 rebounding advantage and an incredible 64 points in the paint, while the Cavs had just 46 points down low.

The Pistons went small down the stretch and were able to get to the rim and rack up points in the paint, coming back in the second half without launching a ton of 3-point shots.

You have to give credit to Isaiah Stewart, who battled all night against the taller Cavs, logging a 14 point, 12 rebound double double in the process.

It really was a team effort on the boards, as Cunningham added 10 of his own, Hamidou Diallo had six and Rodney McGruder had five which helped to offset the Pistons’ size disadvantage.

I still think Detroit is too small, but they showed last night that versatility and skill can overcome size.