On Wednesday night, the Pistons had to rely heavily on Cade Cunningham to generate any efficient offense against the Hornets. Cade ended up playing 38 minutes in a game that should have been an easy win, which is a dangerous formula in today's NBA. The Pistons didn't have the luxury of giving their star must rest thanks to other injuries on the roster.
The Pistons can't keep pushing Cade too hard
Cade's minutes load looks even more concerning against the backdrop of multiple stars across the NBA suddenly getting injured in the first week of the season. Some of those were just freak accidents, but playing more minutes inevitably puts players at higher risks regardless.
Unfortunately for Cade, he didn't have much choice against Charlotte because his team was struggling to score with anyone else at the helm. Despite some offensive bench contributions, the Pistons didn't even crack 100 points total. Detroit finished with 97 points and Cade had 30 of them (on top of 7 assists too).
The Pistons have tried to shift towards a more modern offense this season, including distributed playmaking from other players. But that model has largely fallen apart in the last two games, without another reliable go-to scorer next to Cade. With his All-Star running mate in Jalen Duren injured and his teammates' threes not falling, Cade has taken on a huge load once again.
Detroit can't afford to have Cade miss time
Several teams have been decimated by bad injury luck already, and the Pistons could count as one themselves. Duren has been out since early in the second game with a hamstring injury and Isaiah Joe has also missed time with a hip contusion. Both players figured to play prominently in the rotation before the season.
Cade himself had a small injury scare against the Hornets when he bumped knees with Brandon Miller. Fortunately, it appeared to be minor and didn't keep him out of the game. But it should be enough to raise some concern about how much the Pistons need from Cade.
They're asking him to play a lot and play hard during that time because they don't have many other offensive options. If the Pistons can somehow find other avenues to generating efficient offense, whether it's a shooting resurgence or an Ausar Thompson development, they'll be able to preserve Cade better.
Fortunately, Cade has been generally durable in the last two seasons since the Pistons became a playoff team. He played 70 games two years ago and managed 64 last season despite missing extended time with a collapsed lung from a freak accident. Hopefully this season will bring a clean bill of health and a chance for Cade to pace himself in terms of minutes.
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