The Detroit Pistons were able to lower their magic number to seven with a win over Miami last night, which is the number of wins that will guarantee them a spot in the playoffs.
It’s hard to believe this is the same team that won 14 games last season, as the Pistons look like a legit threat given that they’ve been the best defensive team in the NBA since the start of the new year.
The biggest reason for their leap is the emergence of Cade Cunningham, who has launched himself firmly into the All-NBA discussion, and if things keep going the way they have been, he has an argument to be on the 1st team.
It’s not completely surprising to Pistons fans, who have watched his emergence in real time, and have heard some lofty comparisons for Cade since he first entered the league.
Cade Cunnigham, Luka Doncic and the playoffs
Cunningham was immediately compared to Luka Doncic when he was selected #1 by the Pistons back in 2021 and the comp did make some sense.
Both guys are big point guards who play at their own pace, get where they want to on the floor and usually make the right read.
I would argue that Cunningham is already a far better defender than Doncic, and until this season, the comparison was thin, mostly because Cade and the Pistons had never won, while Doncic has already played in 50 playoff games in his career.
That includes last season, when he led his team to the Western Conference Finals, putting them on his back and making it even more inexplicable that the Mavericks ended up trading him. That move still doesn’t make sense and never will.
Doncic’s game is tailor-made for the playoffs, when games generally slow down, and his ability to get where he wants and make the right read becomes even more important.
Doncic has seen every form of double team and trap NBA teams can throw at him, and still manages to do his thing, changing pace to suit him and using his elite footwork to get off shots in the paint or set up his teammates.
Cade may not be quite at Luka-level offensively yet, but he’s getting closer every game and is cut from the same cloth when it comes to using his size, pace and footwork to get to his spots.
Like Luka, Cade is constantly drawing double teams, but usually figures them out as the game goes on and knows how to make teams pay for overplaying him, usually by setting up one of his dunkers with a lob.
Luka’s insane regular season numbers get even better in the playoffs, where he is averaging 30.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8 assists per game for his career.
He has the type of game that elevates everyone around him, just like Cunningham, who hopes to have a similar impact in the playoffs when slowing things down and hunting mismatches becomes even more important.
The Pistons aren’t there yet, but Cunningham has some of the same assets that make Luka so deadly in the playoffs, and if Detroit does get there, their opponent is going to have their hands full trying to stop him.