The Detroit Pistons lost their third game in a row last night on the road to the Nets, but not without leaving an impression.
The Pistons haven’t been winning much of late, just twice in their last 10 games, but they’ve been close in all of them, not suffering a blowout since the middle of February and covering the spread all but once in that stretch.
Cade Cunningham dropped 34 in the loss and the Pistons went shot for shot with a team that many had pencilled in for the NBA Finals this season.
The national media, casual fans and refs may not have noticed, but the Pistons got the attention of Kevin Durant, who had nothing but praise for Cunningham and his teammates.
Durant has caught on to what the rest of the league is going to learn soon, which is the Detroit Pistons aren’t going to be in the cellar for much longer.
Kevin Durant on Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons
Here is what Durant had to say when asked about the Pistons’ young core:
"“When you’ve got a 6’7″ point guard, I mean s***, that’s a good start….somebody who can wreck a whole defensive game plan with his size, his talent, his skill…. so that’s a great start. Then you go down the line and see Saddiq Bey, Marvin Bagley, Jerami Grant and Isaiah Stewart, I mean, they have length and toughness down the line, and a coaching staff that’s going to get the best out of their players, I could see this team being something, a force to be reckoned with in the future.”"
This is the third big game Cade Cunningham has had against the Nets, and Kevin Durant has had something positive to say about the rookie after each of them.
Cunningham may not win Rookie of the Year (even though he is the best rookie player, sorry, fight me) but he is already getting respect from some of the best in the league because game recognizes game and guys like KD know a future star when they see one.
Yes, it was another loss and yes Cade gets to put up more shots than his counterparts, but I am not sure how you could watch him go toe-to-toe with KD in that 4th quarter and say he’s not the best rookie.
KD sees it. He also sees that this team is at the nascent stages of something special and won’t be a 20-win team for long.