Overlooked Cade Cunningham skill gives Pistons unique advantage

Detroit Pistons v Washington Wizards
Detroit Pistons v Washington Wizards | Jess Rapfogel/GettyImages

Cade Cunningham is a well-rounded player with high expectations coming into next year. His game typically speaks for itself in the box score, evidenced by his top 10 finishes in both points and assists per game last season. Cade provides a ton of value as both a scorer and playmaker, but his contributions on the defensive end go relatively under the radar.

Cade Cunningham's defense is underrated

A unique advantage that the Pistons have with Cunningham as the point guard is an extra help side defender. Officially, Cade is listed as 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot wingspan and he often showcases his full size on the defensive end. Last year, he averaged 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. Having your point guard be a playmaker on the defensive backline, especially as a rim protector, is a rare luxury that most teams do not have.

Cunningham has to pick his spots when to go all-out on defense, but when he does, he can be a lockdown defender in stretches.

Cade often turned it up defensively in the clutch, which is in the last five minutes of close games. Last year, he was top five the NBA in clutch blocks. These included chase-down blocks in transition against speedy guards, as well as standing up big men such as Alperen Sengun and Onyeka Okongwu on crucial possessions. His timing on both ends is elite and he’s able to harness that advantage fully in clutch moments when the clock is ticking.

Cade has not been the strongest on-ball defender since his rookie year, but there is definitely a blueprint for building an elite defense with him playing a big role. One of the only other guards in the league last year who matched his block and steal numbers was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who runs the point for the Thunder but does not typically guard elite point guards on other teams.

Shai instead uses his size and timing to disrupt plays as a help defender while Lu Dort handles the primary assignment. This resulted in a historic defense for the Thunder, and we could see similar results down the road for the Pistons if they pick up an elite on-ball stopper or somebody currently on the team (we’re looking at Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland) develops into one.

Cunningham got plenty of attention for his heavy burden and contributions on offense but his defense gives the Pistons a weapon few teams have.