Cade Cunningham has blossomed into a superstar for the Detroit Pistons but the team is still facing the same problem, which is that they don't have a second star.
This has been the case since Cunningham entered the league, as he only had his first All-Star teammate this past season, and it's arguable that the biggest reason Duren was there was because of Cade.
The Pistons have been relying on year-over-year improvement from Cunningham, which they have gotten and will probably get again as he continues to get stronger and improve his outside shooting accuracy.
The Pistons have found their superstar, which is great, but they are falling into a familar trap of expecting that player's excellence and improvement to be the main driving force of the team.
The Pistons are still in "throw it to Cade" mode
Detroit has added 3-point shooting this summer and should finally be able to create the space around Cunningham that has been lacking for his entire career.
This could be enough to unlock him even more, which is a scary thought for defenses, who couldn't stop him when there wasn't any space at all.
But when it comes to crunch time, the Pistons still only have one option, which is to throw the ball to Cade and see what happens. There is still not a player on this roster other than Cunningham who can reliably create their own shot, and that problem may actually be worse the loss of Tobias Harris and even Caris LeVert.
You can argue that the Pistons have improved this summer, but they are still relying entirely on Cunningham to be great and to carry the team offensively and in crunch time, so nothing has changed in that regard.
The Pistons have left themselves vulnerable
Detroit may have a deep roster, but if they were to lose Cunningham for an extended period of time, this might be a borderline lottery team.
The Pistons don't have a clear second star who could step up in his absence, so once again the Pistons are putting all of their eggs in the Cade Cunningham basket without a viable Plan B.
There is only so long a team can get away with this without getting burned, so the Pistons had better hope Cunningham stays healthy and continues to improve, as the team will only go as far as he takes them.
It's nice to have a superstar, but no one can win a title on their own in this league, and the Pistons are playing a risky game by again failing to get Cunningham a second star to help carry the burden.
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