Cade Cunningham was at his very best on Thursday night as he poured in 52 points and 11 assists in a double-overtime victory over the Rockets. Perhaps the most remarkable part of his perfomance though, especially based on Cade's past weaknesses, was his lack of turnovers - he finished with zero despite playing 48 minutes and having the ball in his hands a majority of the time.
Cade tackled his biggest weakness
Although it's good for some of the Pistons to make learning mistakes, Cade is past the point of careless turnovers for the sake of growing. He's already a 2x All-Star and has been the focal point of the Pistons' offense for years. But fans were still waiting to see him be more careful with the ball until this game.
Cade did not disappoint, stringing together his usual intricate dribbling counters and hitting tough shots while also cutting back on his mistakes. Even with the game close down the stretch, Cade maintained his focus and looked surprisingly refresed compared to other players on the floor. Adding stamina was a big focus of his offseason training, and seemed to help him execute down the stretch against the Wizards.
He was exceptional from every part of the floor, whether it was finishing at the rim, pulling up in the midrange, or hitting his threes (3-of-5 from downtown). Cade even used the free throw line as a weapon, shooting 17-of-18 there. His workload was unbelievable just from a scoring standpoint, not to mention his 11 assists too.
Earlier evolutions of Cade might have racked up double-digit turnovers in the same situation, with so much defensive attention focused on him and the game extending for 10 additional minutes. But the current iteration knows how to attack his spots without getting rushed. Cade's incremental improvements have led to this moment and earned him the title of being the first ever NBA player with 50 points, 10 assists and 0 turnovers in a game.
Now Cade needs to maintain this style
Hopefully, Cade won't have to face similar situations again this season. He was asked to carry a huge load as the Pistons fight through key injuries, but his workload should lower once Jalen Duren is back in the lineup. However, that can't give Cade an excuse to be more careless with the basketball.
Most teams will have better perimeter defenders to throw at Cade than the Wizards did. The playoffs will definitely bring a different level of intensity and defense, especially in later rounds. We don't expect Cade to have zero turnovers in every game, but keeping his average down from previous seasons would be helpful. And above all, he needs to avoid the completely careless ones that are hardly even forced by the defense.
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