It wasn’t the most efficient night for Cade Cunningham, but he came up big when it mattered and carried the Detroit Pistons to an overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Cade was able to get to his spots all night but had a lot of bunnies rattle out, leading to a 10-of-25 night shooting.
But he scored seven of his 28 points in the overtime period and showed why many believe he should be Rookie of the Year. I mean no offense to Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes, who are both amazing, but their teams are not going to them down the stretch in an overtime game.
Their seasons are hard to compare, as Cade Cunningham is the focal point of his offense while the other two are complementary players. It will likely come down to the wire, but if Cade keeps putting up numbers like this, it will be hard to deny him the award.
The Pistons were able to contain Trae Young and hold on to the victory even though they made some mental mistakes at the end of regulation that nearly cost them the game.
Here are three takeaways from the suddenly frisky Detroit Pistons’ win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Detroit Pistons: Isaiah Stewart and Marvin Bagley III
Isaiah Stewart had to leave the game in the second quarter after Clint Capela accidentally rolled into his leg, tweaking Stewart’s knee in the process.
The Pistons said the injury isn’t serious, but he didn’t return for the rest of the game, which was a shame. Not only is Stewart playing well right now, but he was doing a great job of switching onto the smaller Hawks on the perimeter in the early stages of the game.
However, Bagley III did an admirable job as his replacement, notching his first double-double as a Piston with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The two were on the floor together when Beef Stew got injured, something we may see more of in the future as the Pistons try to figure out their big man situation.
Bagley III showed why people are excited about his talent, as he grabbed offensive rebounds for put backs and had several lobs from Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes that he went up and got for dunks.
Bagley III needs to get better at passing out of the post, and his late foul nearly cost the Pistons the game (luckily John Collins missed one of the free throws), but his offensive game is intriguing and if Detroit can re-sign him to a team-friendly deal, that trade is going to look like a steal.