Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons have been playing their best basketball of the season, winning five of their last seven games.
They’ve been playing much better defensively over that stretch and were able to grind out a clutch win over the Pacers with 12-1 run even though it was the second game of a back-to-back.
These are good signs for a young team trying to take the next step towards sustained success and the Pistons look to be building chemistry that will help them make the leap next season.
One thing that I love about the young core of Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes is that they play hard and give effort on the defensive end. All of them have flaws in their offensive games (some more than others), but they are giving effort that is showing up in the hustle stats.
This is especially important for Cade Cunningham, the leader of the team, as he is setting a positive example that even the stars need to do the little things, which trickles down to everyone else.
Here are the Detroit Pistons’ leaders in key hustle stats.
Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons: Hustle stats
Deflections per game
- Killian Hayes 2.4
- Cade Cunningham 2.3
- Hamidou Diallo 2.2
Hayes leads the team in deflections per game, which is not surprising, as he is adept at using his size to create havoc in the passing lanes. Cade Cunningham is just behind him, as is Hamidou Diallo, who has led the NBA in steals since late December.
This puts the three of them in the second tier defensively for guards, but that is very promising considering their age and experience.