The biggest concern for fans of the Detroit Pistons right now is the health status of Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham will miss his third straight game tonight after the Pistons have managed to win the previous two without him.
Beating the Pelicans and Spurs without Cade is one thing, but winning against the Cavaliers or any other playoff-bound team is another, so it’s easy to understand the concern.
Hopefully, the Pistons are just getting Cade plenty of rest, as the injury doesn’t appear to be serious (you never know with the Pistons) and there wasn’t even a clear indication of when or how it happened.
The Pistons haven’t clinched anything yet, but their magic number is down to three, so getting a guaranteed playoff spot and getting Cade Cunningham back at 100 percent are the two primary concerns for fans in Detroit.
We’ve talked about some of the defensive concerns for the Pistons against possible first-round opponents, but there are potential problems on the other end as well.
The problem: Trapping Cade Cunningham
Teams have increasingly thrown everything at Cunningham, doubling and trapping him nearly every chance they get in an effort to make someone else on Detroit beat them.
To his credit, Cade has mostly dissected other teams when this happens, making the right reads most of the time, getting his teammates involved and eventually cracking the defense himself later in games.
The solution: More Dennis Schroder and the shooters getting hot
The Pistons are better equipped to handle this problem after adding Dennis Schroder at the trade deadline.
He’s not been spectacular, but has provided exactly what the Pistons needed, which is another trusted ballhandler and passer who can take some of the pressure off Cade.
With both of the on the floor, Schroder can take some of the pressure off Cunningham and make it more difficult for teams to double team him.
The other answer is simple: Make them pay.
The Pistons have not been a great 3-point shooting team this season, but they have guys who can get hot, and they will need them to if other teams are going to sell out by doubling Cade.
If guys like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tobias Harris are hitting shots, the Pistons’ offense is tough to stop, and teams will be less inclined to leave one of them open.
Cunningham has been facing this for most of the season and the Pistons know they’ll see even more of it in the playoffs, so it’s a problem they will be ready for, but one they will have to solve.
The problem: Leaving the non-shooters
The Pistons almost always have a player or two on the floor who is not a threat to shoot, whether it is Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland II or Isaiah Stewart.
Teams always pinpoint these guys in the playoffs and dare them to shoot, so when the doubles come, it will likely be off of one of these guys.
It would be nice if Thompson, Holland or Stewart got red hot from 3-point range, but barring that, there is only one other solution.
The solution: Attack the rim and run
The Pistons have dominated in the paint this season on both ends and will need that to continue.
In the past, we’ve seen non-shooters like Josh Giddey become a real problem in the playoffs, so the way to avoid that is to attack the rim when teams leave guys like Thompson or Holland open and dare them to shoot.
To their credit, both guys have been good about this for most of the season, especially Holland, whose ability to score in traffic has been a real boost at times.
It also helps to get these guys in the open court where they are at their most dangerous, so the Pistons will have to push the pace every chance they get, something JB Bickerstaff has stressed all season.
The playoffs slow down, and weaknesses become more pronounced. The good news is that the Pistons know exactly what theirs are and how teams are going to attack them.
Now they just have to get there.