Cade Cunningham making good on my preseason predictions

Don’t look now, but your Detroit Pistons are in the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. 

Ok, so they still having a losing record at 7-8, but given the schedule they have played, the Pistons are outperforming most expectations. 

They have a chance to be .500 after tonight’s game against the Bulls, a feat they haven’t achieved this deep into a season since a time when I had fewer gray hairs in my beard. 

For the last six years, I have made preseason predictions about the Pistons and the NBA as a whole, including this season, and right now, the Pistons are making me look like a genius. Ok, so genius might be a slight overstatement, especially considering we are 15 games into the season and a whole lot can change, so I have to pat myself on the back while I can.

But of my 10 preseason predictions, 9 of them are looking good, especially the ones about Cade Cunningham. You can read all 10 here and see what you think.

NBA predictions: What is going right 

I predicted that the Pistons would be the surprise “good” team of the season and that the 76ers would be the surprise “bad” team. 

It might be stretch to call the Pistons good, but they are certainly better than expected and have gone 7-4 since losing the first four games of the season. They have to be named as one of the early surprises of the NBA after being a complete mess just last season. 

Philly is obviously dealing with myriad injuries, so it might be a stretch to call them “bad,” but the standings are what they are and the 76ers are 2-10, tied for the second worst record in the Eastern Conference. 

It’s still early but how deep of a hole can this team afford to get into and still expect to make the playoffs? 

I predicted Jaden Ivey would finish in the top-5 of the Most Improved Player award and right now that is about where I have him ranked. There is still a ton of season to go, but Ivey is off to a good start. 

Although I didn’t see this Cavaliers thing coming (who did?) I did predict someone other than Boston would win the East and someone other than OKC would win the West. Boston is still likely the best team in the East but you have to respect the 15-0 start by the Cavs, who look amazing on both sides of the ball. 

OKC is in second place behind the Golden State Warriors, a team I missed on big time, as I did predict both LeBron James and Stephen Curry would miss the playoffs this year. I may have jumped the gun on these two legends, who have their teams at 9-4 and 10-2, respectively. The two faces of the NBA aren’t ready to go away yet, which you love to see.

Cade Cunningham predictions: Assists aplenty 

Cunningham is making good on a couple of predictions I had for him this season. Here is what I wrote: 

“I think Cade’s overall numbers will stay the same, though we will see a leap in assists and he’ll finish in the top-5 in the NBA in that category. That and an improved win total will get him his first All-Star nod.” 

Cunningham is currently 5th in the NBA in assists per game and has logged four triple doubles in his last 10 games. Given the Pistons' record right now, he would have to be considered a frontrunner for the All-Star team, though it is still way too early for that talk. 

The Pistons just need to stack wins against the bad teams in the East and stay competitive with the rest and the personal accolades will come, but it’s nice to see Cunningham stepping up and the Pistons competing for something other than a lottery spot.