Great teams have to be able to get a win when their best player isn’t at his best, and the Pistons weren’t able to do that in game three, as Cade Cunningham had an off night, and his teammates didn’t do enough to pick him up.
Ausar Thompson single-handedly kept the Pistons in the game for a stretch, and Tobias Harris stepped up for 23 points, but the Pistons were once again let down by Jalen Duren, who is rapidly burning money on his next contract.
But that doesn’t let Cade Cunningham off the hook, nor does it change the Pistons’ biggest problem, which is that they can’t win if Cade isn’t great, and he wasn’t great in game three.
Cough syrup Cade Cunningham reared his sleepy head
The Pistons could have lived with the poor shooting night Cade had, as he came on in the 4th quarter and ended with 27 points, albeit on an inefficient 8-of-23 from the floor.
What they can’t live with is nine turnovers, and yes, you can say some of them came from overuse and the Pistons not having another reliable ball handler, but some of them were just egregious mistakes that can’t happen in playoff games.
I’ve watched nearly every one of Cade Cunnigham’s games in his career, and anyone who has, knows that there are two Cades, the one we see most of the time, who plays at his own pace but is decisive and aggressive, and the one I call “Cough Syrup Cade,” who looks drowsy, throws lazy passes and commits turnovers.
High usage or not, two of Cade’s turnovers in particular changed the momentum of the game.
The Pistons can’t win with this version of Cade, but I doubt we see him again, as he was spectacular in the first two games.
This can’t all be about Cade Cunningham
If you had told me before the game that Thompson and Harris were going to combine for 40 points, I would have predicted a Pistons win, but they got nothing from the rest of the supporting cast.
Jalen Duren still hasn’t scored in double digits and fouled out of the game right after the brief stretch where he seemed to care.
The entire bench scored 20 points combined, same as in game one, and Javonte Green was the only one that had any kind of impact. Isaiah Stewart played just 12 minutes after picking up a stupid foul just before the half that was one of many times the Pistons pulled a Cheddar Bob and shot themselves in the leg.
It’s becoming painfully clear that the Pistons can’t win in the playoffs unless Cade is perfect or the supporting cast steps up. They can still win this series, but Trajan Langdon is learning a lot about his team and what he needs to do this summer.
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