The Detroit Pistons are off to a surprise 7-8 start despite a tough schedule that will see its 4th back-to-back tonight against Chicago.
A big reason for that has been Cade Cunningham, who is orchestrating the Pistons’ offense and involved in the vast majority of their points either as a scorer or creator.
The Pistons are 7-4 in their last 11 games after an 0-4 start and you can see the team starting to believe in its defense and its best player.
Teams have been selling out to try and stop Cade and for the most part, he has made the right reads and is using the double teams to get his teammates involved, which has led to a bump in his assist numbers.
He’s been a sure bet over the last 10 games in particular, especially when it comes to assists.
Cade Cunningham stats: Overview of the last 10 games
Cunningham has averaged 21.8 points, 9.4 assists and 8.2 rebounds over the last 10 games, evolving into a triple-double threat every time he steps on the floor.
He’s had four triple-doubles in that span, making that a decent longshot bet to consider in certain matchups. The bump in assist numbers has pushed Cade into 5th in the NBA overall per game.
Cunningham also joined an elite group of players who logged 3,000 points, 900 assists and 150 steals in their first 150 games.
He has a good matchup again tonight against Chicago, as the Bulls’ defense has struggled early on and they have next to zero rim protection. Cunningham should live in the paint tonight, which should lead to buckets and assists on kick outs.
The turnovers have been a problem, though not as big of one as people make out, and he has coughed it up just six times in the last two games combined.
Cade’s shooting numbers have dipped in the last 10 games, as he’s hit just 43 percent from the floor and 32 percent from long range. With Cunningham it is all about getting good looks and not forcing things when he gets trapped, which he has been better at of late.
He was efficient last night against Washington and is getting better about picking his spots to impose himself on defenders.
Cade Cunningham stats: Key trends over the last 10 games
Other than the dip in shooting percentages, one trend to watch is free-throw attempts, as Cunningham has not gotten a lot of calls in the early season.
Cade has averaged fewer than four free-throw attempts per game over the last 10 games, which is low considering he lives in the paint. Hopefully, some well-timed complaints from both Cunningham and his coach will sway some of these calls his way eventually.
If Cunningham could increase his free-throw volume close to players with similar usage, like Jayson Tatum, who gets twice as many attempts per game, his scoring numbers are going to go way up.
All of the high-usage guys get more calls than Cade, so you have to hope that will balance out as the season goes on. Cunningham is currently 42nd in the NBA in free-throw attempts per game.
Future predictions for Cade Cunningham
Right now, Cade has been happy to be unselfish and get his teammates involved, and as they start to hit more shots, teams are eventually going to back off the double teams.
When that happens, expect Cade’s point totals to go up but his assists to go down slightly, though I still think betting the over on assists is a good one, especially tonight against Chicago, as there should be plenty of points scored.