There has been a decidedly negative vibe around the Detroit Pistons this week.
I don’t know if it was the early injuries, the week between games giving people too much time to think, the paltry win total predictions or just reality setting in as the regular season rapidly approaches, but Pistons’ Twitter was on one this week.
So this edition of my preseason overreactions is only going to focus on the positive. We’re going to ignore the 20 turnovers, the copious fouls and the fact that Isaiah Stewart went 0-7 from 3-point range.
Stewart didn’t have a great night shooting, but I loved his defensive energy and he did have a few nice offensive plays, including one in the late second quarter when he attacked a hard close out, got to the rim and delivered a nifty pass to Jalen Duren for a dunk.
We have the whole rest of the season to bathe in negativity, so let’s keep these overreactions optimistic.
Cade Cunningham is back!
I was accused of overreacting for showing mild concern over Cade Cunningham missing the second preseason game with quad tendinitis. I find that ridiculous considering the context, as he is the centerpiece of the team and needs to be on the floor. So it was great to see him back out there last night looking like his old self. Cunningham has the innate ability to get into the middle of a defense, use his size to keep defenders off him and then wait for the play to develop. Cunningham had a few bunnies ratttle out early, but was running the offense effectively even though he started the game off the ball. He finished with 14/6/6 in just 22 minutes and looked a lot like the guy who dominated Team USA this summer.
There has been a cloud of doubt hovering over Cade Cunningham as fans wait patiently for him to make the star turn we’ve all been expecting. This performance will help some, though he still has to show he can do it consistently over the course of a whole season.