Cade Cunningham will eventually need some help. Despite the Pistons' star being dynamic enough to win games by himself — like he basically did with a dazzling 30-point, 10-assist, 3 steal, 3 block performance on Wednesday — he can't be expected to play hero every single night for this team. But that's the daunting task he's faced with right now: for his team to make noise in this league, he has to be dominant every single night. That's a task reserved for superstars.
When Cade is on, everything else falls into place for this team. On his off nights though, the lack of offensive punch throughout the Pistons' roster becomes glaringly apparent.
And I know it's not revolutionary to say that a team is better when its star plays well, but the Pistons give Cade no room for error at all. Even less so than other teams led by superstars. And while the rest of the Pistons all bring their own skillsets to the table, offensive creation is hard to come by on the roster.
Ausar Thompson has obvious star potential. Ron Holland II's bag expands nightly. Jalen Duren looks dominant on occasion. But without Jaden Ivey (and maybe even with Jaden Ivey), there is no one on this team who fans can rely on as the safety valve on nights Cade doesn't have everything clicking.
Instead, things get ugly. We saw an example of this in the Pistons' loss against the Cavaliers; when an opponent goes all out to stop Cade, the ball stops moving, everyone's shots become contested, and things look like the opposite of a well-oiled machine. A poorly oiled machine.
How can the Pistons help lessen the load that Cade Cunningham carries?
Of course, bearing the playmaking and scoring load that Cunningham currently bears is a noble cause. But also an exhausting one. Cade, no matter how good he is, shouldn't be forced to put up gaudy numbers on a nightly basis. Great teams grind out wins even on "off nights," and right now the Pistons can't really do that if Cade struggles.
So, what's the solution? Getting Caris LeVert more involved in the rotation is one idea. LeVert has limitations of his own, but he can bring an offensive creation spark off the bench. He might take a little time to adjust to being a Piston, but eventually, he's going to be an important guy for JB to call on.
The next method to help alleviate Cade is to simply pass the ball more when he's struggling or not on the court. Right now, the Pistons rank No. 26 in passes made per game. When a team doesn't have great individual offensive players, it can't also be bad at moving the ball. Those two problems combine into a much, much bigger problem for an offense. For reference, the Warriors (No. 1 in passes made) pass the ball 70 more times per game than the Pistons do. That's nearly 1.5 extra passes per minute of game action!
Cade Cunningham is a special player. We know that! But it's not fair to ask any player to be a superhero every night. Right now, that's what is being asked of the Pistons' star.