Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons lost to the Dallas Mavericks last night and got one step closer to securing the best possible odds for a top-4 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Detroit has the third-worst record and is a game behind the OKC Thunder, so another loss would ensure at least a tie with Oklahoma City.
The Pistons sat all of their veterans in this one but must have been making the tank crowd nervous when they came out and scored 34 points in the first quarter behind the offensive brilliance of rookie Cade Cunningham (more on that in a minute).
The Mavs ultimately won the next three quarters and cruised to an easy win, but not without some promising individual performances from the young Pistons, whose oldest player last night was 25-year-old Braxton Key.
Here are three takeaways from the Pistons’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Detroit Pistons: Is Braxton Key a keeper?
Braxton Key was recently converted from a 10-day contract to a two-way deal for the Pistons after playing well in his stint in Detroit.
I really love his energy and hustle, as he is active on defense, crashing the offensive boards, chasing down loose balls and taking charges.
Key had 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks off the bench last night and did a valiant job defending Luka Doncic when he got his chance.
The 6-foot-8 forward has averaged 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in his six contests with Detroit and has shown he can defend a couple of spots effectively.
While I don’t think Braxton Key will start next season in the rotation, he has a chance to give the Pistons additional depth and a guy they can call up from the G-League when needed.
Troy Weaver has done a great job of identifying these under-the-radar talents and I do think Key might be another of them.