Cade Cunningham's arrival onto the NBA's upper echelon has been loud and unmistakable this season. His offensive excellence, especially in the fourth quarter, is turning heads and catching the attention of national media. But his defensive effort has not gotten the attention it deserves, despite his large role in the Pistons' lockdown defense.
Cade is one of the league's most underrated defenders
With 12 games played so far, Cade's stat line is eye-catching. He's averaging 27 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists per game as one of the league's most well-rounded superstars. A very overlooked aspect of his stats are the 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. These are great numbers from the point guard position, and Cade has helped JB Bickerstaff's defensive system find incredible results.
Although Cade has carried the offense on his back at times (see the Wizards game), the Pistons' real success has come on defense. The Pistons are second in the league in defensive rating and succeeding as a team. This strong defensive cohesion has allowed them to win games even without Cade and other starters. Every player on the roster has competed hard on defense, regardless of their natural talent on that end or their normal playing time.
The NBA has many teams with defensive-minded rosters and ball-dominant guards propping up the offense. But this dynamic is typically the result of that guard being a liability on defense. Perhaps the biggest example is the Pistons' most recent opponent: the Atlanta Hawks. When fully healthy, they revolve around Trae Young's brilliance with the ball in his hands on offense and then try their best to hide him on defense. It's not exactly a rare model and even last year's Eastern Conference champion arguably deployed it around Tyrese Haliburton.
But Cade Cunningham is different. He's huge for a point guard and has great timing, as well as relentless competitiveness that extends to defense. His defensive playmaking coming up with steals and blocks is rarely seen in lead guards and gives the Pistons a major advantage on that end. It's no surprise that the only team with a better defensive rating, the Thunder, also employ a huge point guard who is very active on defense.
Cade can even be found contesting shots at the rim on occasion when he plays the low man position. Because of his 6'6" frame and impeccable hand-eye coordination, he's not afraid to go up against big men attacking the rim. While he might not always get a block or steal in that position, he often helps other Pistons defenders get in better position to shut down a play. At the end of the day, defense is typically a team effort and the Pistons are lucky to have a superstar in Cade who does his part.