After his struggles in last year's playoffs, Pistons star Cade Cunningham received plenty of doubt and criticism about how his game translates to the postseason. On Sunday, he came out with a vengeance to score 39 huge points and prove that he can dominate in the playoffs too. Although he didn't get the necessary help from his teammates to pull out a win, Cade himself had a great outing.
Cade Cunningham was not the problem
For most of the game, Cade seemed like the only viable source of offense for Detroit. He was efficient from every spot as he shot 13-of-27 from the field, 3-of-8 from three and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. Considering the terrible offensive support and spacing he received, those shooting splits were very impressive.
Even more impressive is the fact that Cade did all this so soon after a major injury. His return to the court after a collapsed lung was just 11 days prior. If anything, he was expected to be rusty and unprepared for the intensity of playoff basketball - but it was just the opposite.
Cade handled the physicality of the Orlando Magic defense well. Despite the Magic loading up on him and trying to get the ball out of his hands, Cade was able to attack the rim with plenty of success. He also mixed in his fair share of jumpers, both from the midrange and behind the 3-point line, to keep the defense honest.
The Pistons need to support Cade better
Aside from Cade, the rest of the Pistons were horrible offensively. He was only able to manage 4 assists, not because his playmaking was lackluster but because his teammates weren't hitting shots. This deficiency showed up most in the team's desperate need for better outside shooting.
Besides Cade, the other Pistons shot just 7-of-24 from three-point range. That would be an awful mark regardless, but is made even worse when you consider that most of those looks were extremely open. Even when Cade set up his guys for great looks, they weren't able to hit them.
But Cade will need more help beyond just the shooters as well. Fellow All-Star Jalen Duren took just 4 total shots, his lowest in any game this season. Going into the series, Duren was expected to dominate the Magic big men with his physicality and score inside at will. In Game 1, he didn't come remotely close to making that hope a reality.
Even though the Pistons as a whole had a terrible showing, Cade Cunningham should be proud of his performance. He was able to put any doubts about his playoff scoring to rest with a resounding career-best night.
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