Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Williams, Rotation, Defense

Pistons guard Cade Cunningham made his return to regular season NBA basketball on Wednesday against the Heat after missing most of last season due to a shin injury. He didn’t take long to get into form, finishing with 30 points and nine assists in a narrow 103-102 loss to Miami.

Despite the loss, Cunningham made a statement in his return, orchestrating a 27-9 closing run that almost allowed Detroit to steal one from the Heat, as Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes.

“It’s crazy to be back on the court, back with my brothers competing,” Cunningham said. “I’m just thankful and lucky to be doing what I do. I just kinda carried that with me and just wanted to play hard and stay in the moment and let the game be what it is.”

According to Sankofa, Cunningham spent most of the offseason rehabbing in Miami in preparation for his return to league play.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we came back here for the first game,” Cunningham said. “It was meant to be for me, myself. I couldn’t be more proud of the team that I’m a part of, and just excited about the teammates that I have. I’m lucky to be around them every day. I don’t really think about my leg every day. I just think about what can I do for my team, and how can I help us.”

While Cunningham made his return to NBA action on Wednesday, it wasn’t his first organized five-on-five playing experience this year. Cunningham played for the USA Select Team, scrimmaging against the USA Basketball World Cup Team this summer in front of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, whom his team squared off against on Wednesday.

“He made everybody watch, you remember that,” Spoelstra said. “But that’s what you expect when you’re a No. 1 draft pick. You have size, you have the full skill set, the vision, the handle, shooting. The way he plays the game offensively, it belies the years of his experience.”

We have more notes from the Pistons:

• Head coach Monty Williams has experience in raising the floors of NBA teams, bringing the Suns from a 19-win team to a 34-win team in 2019 and taking the Pelicans to the playoffs. Now, he’s being tasked with bringing one of the winningest franchises in league history back to the top with a young roster, The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III writes. Williams took the time to discuss whether players would be held to a higher standard this season than in the past. “I wouldn’t say shorter leash,” Williams said. “I’d just say it’s about growth. I’m not one to say you just play through mistakes. I don’t think that’s how players grow. I think too many guys, and this is just my opinion, have played through mistakes and picked up habits … Sometimes you got to pull [players] talk to him, show him and then get him back out there. Just allowing guys to play through repetitive mistakes, I’m just not sure that’s a recipe for success.”
• Williams started Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart on Wednesday, and stuck to a 10-man rotation even with players absent to injury, Mike Curtis of The Detroit News observes. Curtis also notes Cunningham’s dominant return along with Stewart’s promising offensive and defensive play at the power forward position.
• Even though the Pistons committed several self-inflicted wounds in their one-point loss on Wednesday, including 14 first-half turnovers, they finally feel like they’re turning the corner, Edwards opines. The Pistons’ 13 blocks and late-game run were bright points, as was holding Miami to 103 points, setting the expectation for what the defense will look like for the rest of the season. “I’ve said it a couple of times that, when you guys show me that you can play that way, that’s what I expect every night,” Williams said.