The Detroit Pistons were able to steal one in overtime against the Miami Heat thanks to some timely shooting from Tim Hardaway Jr. and the brilliance of Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 18 assists, boosting his numbers to 23.6 points,7.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game on the season while shooting 45 percent from the floor and 38 percent from 3-point range on the most attempts of his career. His assist numbers are good for third in the NBA, just behind Nikola Jokic.
Cunningham has looked every bit the star the Pistons need him to be, and it was a huge win with a shorthanded roster that was already missing Jaden Ivey and Tobias Harris and then lost Isaiah Stewart early in the game.
Any serious injury to Stewart would almost necessitate some kind of move by the Pistons, and I have one idea here.
It was Cunningham’s 6th triple double of the season in just the 27th game, so he has a chance to make Pistons’ history and chase down Grant Hill.
Detroit Pistons’ triple-double leaders
Hill was a triple-double machine when he played for the Pistons, as he averaged 21.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists over 435 games for Detroit.
Hill’s career numbers put what Cade is doing in perspective, as he is a Hall of Famer who made the All-Star team seven times.
Hill holds the top-two spots when it comes to triple-doubles for the Pistons, as he had 13 in 1996-97 and 10 in 1995-96, but Cunningham is chasing him down.
Cade is now 3rd all time for triple-doubles by a Pistons player in a season with six and we are still in the middle of December.
Cunningham has practically averaged a triple-double over his last 10 games, as he’s scored 23 points with an incredible 11.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game in that span.
He’s going to rack up a few more triple-doubles this season, and there is a good chance he will supplant Grant Hill in one of those top two spots.
Cunningham is certainly making a strong case for his first All-Star appearance, though the guard group in the Eastern Conference will be tough to crack.
The league won’t be able to ignore him if he keeps stacking triple-doubles, especially if the Pistons win a few games along the way.
They have a tough upcoming Western Conference road trip, which will be a great chance for Cunningham to showcase himself against good teams.
Cunningham has answered most of the questions we had about him this season, but the individual attention won’t come unless the Pistons keep winning.