Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons are looking to make a statement this season. After a successful turnaround season, the team wants to take the next step forward and Cade will have his eyes set on the highest prizes. Winning MVP is definitely a lofty goal, but some good luck and a dominant new year stretch can help get Cade closer to it.
The Pistons have a pretty balanced schedule all around, and arguably their most favorable stretch begins with the new year of 2026. From January 1st to January 19th, the Pistons will play 7 out of 8 games at home and many will come against Eastern Conference rivals. The timing couldn’t be better for Cade’s darkhorse MVP campaign, since the spectacle of NBA Christmas Day usually draws in more viewers in the following weeks.
The games in question are against the following teams: Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, LA Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics.
The only road game of the bunch is at Cleveland and it is unfortunately part of a back-to-back. It’s really a shame scheduling wise that the Knicks’ return to Detroit, where they had such good playoff battles in the first round, is on the second night of a travel back-to-back for the Pistons. Yes, the travel is only from nearby Cleveland but you still would’ve liked the Pistons to be coming into that revenge game fully rested.
Cade Cunningham: Potential League MVP?
Cade’s well-balanced game makes him hard for any team to stop, but he’s fared especially well against some of the Eastern conference teams in this key stretch. Against the Knicks, which will be a national TV game on Peacock, Cade has averaged over 25 points per game in his career. That’s his highest against any team in the East and it also held up in the playoffs last year, when he averaged an even 25.0 points per game against the Knicks.
In fact, Cade has averaged over 20 a game against every team on the New Year list except the Heat. We can expect to see some big scoring performances from him with the extra home cooking of a long home stand. And there are high-profile matchups involved: the Knicks and Celtics games will both be on national TV, and the Cavs and Pacers are notable as the reigning 1st seed and conference champions in the East.
With a dominant stretch individually and as a team in this extended home stay, Cade Cunningham can catapult himself into the MVP conversation. It’ll be a great opportunity for the Pistons to capture national attention and make some headway in the standings towards gaining homecourt advantage. If there’s any stretch the Pistons need to pounce on, it’s January 1st to 19th.