Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Cade Cunningham

Pistons Notes: Duren, Cunningham, Schröder, Chemistry

February 24th, 2025 at 6:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons starting center Jalen Duren has not only been a double-double machine, he’s become a deft distributor. Throughout the team’s six-game winning streak entering Monday’s game against the Clippers, Duren had posted at least five assists in every game, the Detroit Free Press’ Omari Sankofa II notes.

“He’s just a dynamic offensive player and it’s interesting because of his size and strength, you don’t typically see the finesse and touch that he can play with with the ball in his hands,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Normally, guys that are built like that don’t have that type of hand-eye coordination and skill. He’s an elite passer and play-maker. We trust him with the ball in his hands.”

Duren, who is averaging 11.0 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, is eligible for a rookie scale extension after the season.

We have more on the Pistons:

  • Coming off his first All-Star selection, Cade Cunningham continues to dazzle. He racked up 38 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks against Atlanta on Sunday. “He reminds me of Luka (Doncic) a lot,” backup Dennis Schröder said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “I followed his game very closely. It’s impressive how he picks the defense apart. He’s really unselfish. A lot of people don’t do that if they’ve got it going, not shooting. I don’t know how many shots he took in the second half.” Cunningham could also gain a spot on the All-NBA team, which would increase the value of the maximum-salary extension he signed last summer. Rather than a starting salary worth 25% of the cap, he’d earn a salary worth 30% of the cap. That would push his five-year contract from $224MM to approximately $269MM.
  • Schröder had his best outing since he was acquired at the trade deadline, with 16 points and seven assists in 22 minutes against the Hawks. “To be able to have another ball-handler out there, who can make plays, who has no fear, takes a lot of pressure off of Cade and everybody else out there,” Bickerstaff said. “But you need a guy who has courage and this is what we envisioned when we made the trade for him, to get him in the (closing) lineup where he can help us finish and he rose to the occasion.” Schröder has given the team another valuable rotation player with Jaden Ivey sidelined by a fractured fibula.
  • Detroit’s success has been the biggest surprise of the NBA season. The Pistons are fighting for a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference and Bickerstaff praised the team’s chemistry. “I’ve said it before, you can have talent with lack of chemistry and you’re going to underachieve. You can have less talent with better chemistry and you’re going to overachieve,” he said. “When you become elite and win championships you have talent and chemistry and we’re developing into that. We’ve got young guys with high-level ceilings that we’re still working to get to because we’re not a finished product yet, but our chemistry and the vibes in our building every single day are unique that you don’t see, especially with young teams.”
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Central Notes: Giannis, Cunningham, Thompson, Green

February 19th, 2025 at 11:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Giannis Antetokounmpo likes the additions the Bucks made at the trade deadline, but a strained left calf has prevented him from getting on the court with his new teammates, writes Steve Megargee of The Associated Press. The injury caused Antetokounmpo to miss the last six games before the All-Star break, and he’s listed as questionable for Thursday’s contest against the Clippers. He was able to practice today, but neither he or coach Doc Rivers is sure whether he’s going to play.

Even though he’s stuck on the sidelines, Antetokounmpo has been impressed by what he’s seen from Kyle Kuzma, Jericho Sims and Kevin Porter Jr., whom Milwaukee landed in two trades earlier this month.

“The team looks great right now,” Antetokounmpo said. “We’re playing very, very fast. Everybody’s competing. Defensively I think we’re going to be way, way better. We’re big. And I’m excited.”

The downside of the deadline for Antetokounmpo was parting with long-time teammate Khris Middleton. They could back be on the court together again Friday when Milwaukee travels to Washington, and Antetokounmpo has a greeting in mind.

“I’m not shaking his hand, I’m not talking to him, I’m not even looking at him, and every time I see him, I’m going to guard him full court, pick him up full court and deny him,” Antetokounmpo quipped. “You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to make a 3 in his face and go, ‘Khash!’ I’m joking.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • Cade Cunningham became the first Pistons player to be selected to the All-Star Game since Blake Griffin in 2019 and the first Detroit guard to make it since Allen Iverson in 2009, notes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Cunningham enjoyed making his All-Star debut, but added that he expects to return many times in his career. “It’s cool, man. This is what I planned on, though,” he said. “This is what I saw for myself. To be in this position now is a great feeling, but there’s definitely more steps to climb. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and all the things to come.”
  • Pistons forward Ausar Thompson could be primed for a strong close to the season, Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News states in a mailbag column. Davis notes that Thompson had to overcome a long layoff caused by blood clots he experienced late in his rookie season. When he was cleared to play in November, he was limited to 20 minutes per game and was still dealing with fatigue. He has been used as the team’s secondary play-maker over the last eight games and is averaging 4.0 assists per night, along with 13.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.0 steals.
  • Javonte Green, who is expected to join the Cavaliers after completing a buyout with New Orleans, was one of the wings the team considered adding before the trade deadline, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Team officials believed Green was likely to be a buyout candidate, so they directed their trade efforts elsewhere and wound up with De’Andre Hunter.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Players Mixed On New All-Star Format

February 17th, 2025 at 8:03am CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA’s latest attempt to fix the All-Star Game drew a mixed reaction from the players involved, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Amid declining ratings and a feeling that the All-Stars weren’t motivated enough to really compete, the league scrapped the traditional 48-minute game and divided the players into four teams — three of which were selected by TNT personalities Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith and the other consisting of young players who advanced through Friday’s Rising Stars event.

The teams played three mini-games to 40, with O’Neal’s team defeating Barkley’s in the finals and hometown favorite Stephen Curry winning MVP honors. Curry is among those who welcome the changes after last year’s lifeless 211-186 contest.

“I think it was a good step in the right direction to reinvigorate the game in some way,” he said. “And then you tinker with it again next year and see what changes you can make. I don’t want to compare it to any other era because the world has changed, life is different, the way people consume basketball is different. So, it’s not going to look like it used to. But it still can be fun for everybody.”

More defense was on display this year, Reynolds observes, as the teams shot 50% in the three mini-games, as opposed to 56% a year ago. There were also three combined blocked shots in 48 minutes in the 2024 game, a number that was matched in the first three minutes of the opening contest.

Jalen Brunson is also intrigued by the new format, but suggests that the games should be longer. Jayson Tatum questions the idea of having Rising Stars involved in one of the league’s showcase events.

“Obviously happy for those guys,” Tatum said. “But there is something to be said, it’s kind of a big deal to be an All-Star and play Sunday night. Some guys get snubbed and other guys have to work really, really hard to make the All-Star Game. Playing on Sunday night is special, and it always has been. I’m not saying that that was the right or wrong decision. Trial run, I guess. They’ll continue to make tweaks or whatever.”

There were also concerns that the night had too many stoppages for entertainment purposes, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN. Time was set aside for emcee Kevin Hart to banter with the crowd, and there was a 20-minute break during the final game for a retrospective on the TNT crew.

“To be honest, I didn’t like it at all,” Trae Young said. “I didn’t like the breaks. The games were so short. Obviously, we can score. So, they’re trying to, I feel like, trying to extend the game, extend the TV time with the breaks and things like that.”

Here are a few more reactions from players and media members:

  • Draymond Green, who served as a guest commentator during the broadcast, was also critical of including the young players and the format change in general (Twitter video link from NBA Central). “I had to work so hard to play on Sunday night of All-Star Weekend,” he said. “And because ratings are down and the game is bad, we’re bringing in rising stars. That’s not a fix.” 
  • Damian Lillard prefers the traditional East-West matchup and said he would be fine with borrowing Major League Baseball’s idea by giving home-court advantage in the Finals to the conference that wins, per Rachel Nichols of Fox Sports 1 (Twitter link). Lillard also suggested replacing the Rising Stars with an “all-snub” team of players who weren’t selected for the game.
  • Responding to a question about replacing the game with a one-on-one tournament, Kevin Durant said he’d “probably” take part (Twitter video link from Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “You never know. We never thought we’d see a tournament in an All-Star weekend, either,” Durant said. “Anything is up in the air. I think (NBA commissioner Adam Silver) and those guys are doing a great job of pushing the envelope, trying to be creative, trying to reignite the All-Star weekend. That might be a solution.”
  • Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard suggests separating All-Stars by age, matching a team of under-30 players with those 30 and older (Twitter link).
  • Rod Beard of The Detroit News gave the new format a one-star review, calling it “nearly unwatchable” and a “disjointed patchwork” of basketball and entertainment. He pointed to Cade Cunningham, who only got to play five minutes in his first All-Star appearance because of the shortened games. Beard suggests dividing the All-Stars into three eight-player teams and putting them into a round robin competition.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Community Shootaround: Most Improved Player

February 16th, 2025 at 11:07am CST by Rory Maher

According to the latest betting odds (link via Kevin Rogers of VegasInsider), there are two clear frontrunners to be named 2024/25’s Most Improved Player: Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Clippers wing Norman Powell.

Cunningham is the current favorite for the award, but Powell is a close second. Tyler Herro, Amen Thompson, Trey Murphy, Christian Braun, Evan Mobley, Jalen Williams, Dyson Daniels, Victor Wembanyama and Max Christie are among the other players in consideration, but it would be genuinely shocking if anyone from that group wins, given the current odds.

Griffin Wong of DraftKings recently weighed in on what is seemingly a two-man race, making the case both for and against Powell and Cunningham. While Wong believes that Powell has “clearly” shown more individual improvement, he thinks voters — 100 members of the media — will ultimately choose Cunningham, given the recent history of selecting rising young players and Detroit’s dramatic turnaround from a season ago.

A 10-year veteran, Powell is posting career-best numbers in virtually every major statistic in 2024/25, including points (24.2), rebounds (3.6), assists (2.2), steals (1.3) and minutes (33.6) per game. In 45 appearances, he has posted an extremely efficient shooting slash line of .496/.428/.819, good for a career-high true shooting percentage of .633. He is the leading scorer on the West’s No. 6 seed (the Clippers are 31-23).

At 31, Powell would be the oldest player to ever win MIP. That distinction currently belongs to former Magic guard Darrell Armstrong, who was 30 when he won the award in ’98/99.

Cunningham, 23, is also posting career-best numbers in several statistics in ’24/25, averaging 25.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 9.3 APG on .455/.351/.850 shooting (.551 TS) in 50 games (35.5 MPG). After finishing with the NBA’s worst record (14-68) last season, the Pistons have already more than doubled that meager win total and currently hold a 29-26 record, good for the No. 6 seed in the East.

Obviously, Cunningham has far more impressive rebounding and assist totals, and he’s Detroit’s best player. But as Wong writes, the first-time All-Star has been a far less efficient scorer than Powell, who also has better on/off numbers. According to Wong, Cunningham’s improvement was more or less expected — he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 — whereas Powell’s has been much more surprising and arguably more impactful to winning. Neither player is great defensively, so Wong views that as essentially a wash.

We want to know what you think. Should Cunningham, Powell or another player be selected as this season’s Most Improved Player? Head to the comments section to share your thoughts.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Pistons Notes: Thompson, Cunningham, Chemistry, Blaha

February 15th, 2025 at 11:12am CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons second-year forward Ausar Thompson hasn’t attempted a single 3-point shot in his last nine games but he’s found other ways to be an offensive threat, Hunter Patterson and Shakeia Taylor of The Athletic write. In seven February games, Thompson is averaging 14.6 points and 4.4 assists per contest while shooting 69.5% from the floor.

Thompson’s rookie season was cut short by blood-clotting issues and the start of his sophomore campaign was delayed until he was cleared to play. The No. 5 pick in the 2023 draft has now jumped into the starting lineup with Jaden Ivey sidelined by a broken fibula.

“He’s just putting it all together now and it’s great to see,” forward Tobias Harris said. “Every player has their own journey and I just think that you’re seeing him blossom into his game and really figure out his spots on the floor. … As he continues to gain that confidence in his game all around, he’s going to be a hell of a player in this league.”

We have more on the Pistons:

  • Cade Cunningham, who is making his first All-Star appearance, said that undergoing season-ending shin surgery in his second season was a difficult decision that has paid off in the long run, he told Coty Davis of the Detroit News. “(The pain) got to a point where it was unbearable,” Cunningham said. “It definitely hindered my athletic development. So, getting the surgery allowed me to push myself to get my lower body strong again; all that stuff was huge for me, and now I feel better than I ever have.”
  • Cunningham told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press that he’s humbled by the accolades and support he’s received. “When I walk into arenas, really anywhere I go now, people are yelling All-Star, people are saying congratulations and telling me how cool it is and all that stuff,” he said. “It means a lot hearing that. To be amongst the All-Stars of the NBA, that’s a huge deal and I don’t take that lightly. It means a lot to me.”
  • The Pistons are three games above .500 at the All-Star break, something no one outside of the organization could have anticipated. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes that the “vibes” among the players has played a big role, Sankofa writes in the same story. “All I can speak on is what I’ve seen since I’ve been here. The guys’ attitude, personality, chemistry, all those things has been excellent,” he said. “The vibes every day in the building are always positive, always uplifting, we’re not perfect, we have our moments, our emotions, we get into it and go back and forth but we quickly move on, and that’s the sign of a team that’s actually gelled and come together and has chemistry it takes to be successful.”
  • Longtime Pistons broadcaster George Blaha has been selected to the Naismith Hall of Fame. He’s the recipient of the 2025 Curt Gowdy Media Award for electronic media, Rod Beard of the Detroit News relays. Blaha is in his 49th season as an NBA broadcaster. “I have to say, it’s thrilling to be part of that organization and truly to be singled out among the broadcasters,” Blaha said. “I’ve been to Springfield any number of times, and now I get to go back as an honoree. It’s going to be awesome.”
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Announces Three-Point Contest, Skills Challenge Participants

February 7th, 2025 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced the participants for the All-Star Saturday festivities in San Francisco on February 15, revealing today (via Twitter) which players will compete in the three-point contest and the skills challenge. Here are the details:

Three-Point Contest:

Among this year’s participants, Powell (43.1%), Garland (42.9%), and Johnson (41.7%) have been the most accurate three-point shooters so far this season, while Herro (39.3% on 9.7 attempts per game) has been the most prolific.

Lillard won the event in both 2023 and 2024 and will be looking to become the first player since Craig Hodges in 1992 to claim the three-point title for a third consecutive year. Larry Bird was also a three-time winner, having achieved the feat in the first three years the NBA held the event (1986-88).

Hield is the only other player in this year’s field to have won the contest before, having done so in 2020. The Warriors wing will be the home team’s representative next Saturday.

Skills Challenge:

It appears the NBA will be tweaking the format of the skills challenge again in 2025, with the event set to feature four teams of two players apiece instead of three players per team.

Mobley was part of the Cavs team that won the event in 2022, along with Jarrett Allen and Garland. He’ll be teaming up with Mitchell this time around.

The NBA also officially confirmed the participants of the dunk contest earlier this week (Twitter link). Those four players, who had been previously reported, are Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis, Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, Bucks guard Andre Jackson, and Magic two-way guard Mac McClung.

Like Lillard in the three-point contest, McClung will be looking to three-peat in his event next Saturday night.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Announces 2025 All-Star Game Rosters

February 6th, 2025 at 6:33pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The 24 players selected for the 2025 All-Star Game were drafted on a Thursday pre-game TNT show by coaches Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith, and later announced by the NBA (Twitter link).

The players were previously sorted into groups of starters and reserves, but that had no bearing on their team placement for the new mini-tournament in this year’s game.

Below are each team’s selections, sorted in order of pick:

Team Shaq

O’Neal had the first overall pick in the televised draft, selecting James, who holds the record for most All-Star appearances in a career. For the most part, O’Neal opted for the “old guard” of the NBA, so to speak. His team has a whopping 87 All-Star appearances (including this year) among its eight players.

The roster also unites a handful of players. Durant spent this week in trade rumors, with reports indicating he didn’t want to be traded to Curry’s Warriors. The two players were teammates for three seasons. This also will mark the first time James and Davis will play together since the blockbuster move that brought Doncic to L.A. Additionally, Curry, James, Durant, Tatum and Davis all played together on the 2024 U.S. men’s Olympic Team.

Team Kenny

In contrast to O’Neal’s roster, Smith opted for some of the younger stars across the league. Smith’s team has a combined 13 All-Star nods to their name — Williams, Mobley, Cunningham and Herro are all first-timers. Smith united a pair of Cavaliers, with Mobley and Garland joining forces.

Team Chuck

Barkley went for a mix of experience in his group. He secured the top three expected players in the MVP race this season between Jokic, Antetokounmpo and Gilgeous-Alexander. He also landed Wembanyama with the 12th overall pick. Barkley’s group has a combined 35 All-Star honors, with Sengun and Wembanyama as first-time All-Stars and Antetkounmpo (nine) and Jokic (seven) leading the way.

A fourth team coached by Candace Parker will play in the tournament. She’ll be coaching whichever team wins this year’s Rising Stars Challenge — those rosters were announced earlier this week. Two teams will meet in a semifinal (game one) while the other two also play each other (game two). The winning team from each game moves on to the final round.

The four teams participating in the NBA All-Star Game will compete for a prize pool of $1.8 million. Each player on the team that wins the final will receive $125,000, while members of the second-place team earn $50,000. Players on the third- and fourth-place teams will receive $25,000.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Announces 2025 All-Star Reserves

January 30th, 2025 at 5:51pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The 2025 NBA All-Star reserves were revealed on Thursday night during TNT’s Inside the NBA broadcast and officially confirmed by the league (Twitter links).

Fourteen players will join the 10 starters announced last week in the All-Star Game in San Francisco on Feb. 16.

All-Star reserves were selected by the league’s head coaches. Here are the players who made the cut:

Eastern Conference reserves:

The East features three first-time All-Stars in Cunningham, Herro and Mobley. The guard spots in the East were highly contentious, with Atlanta’s Trae Young, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball and Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey among those also in the running. Ball finished first in fan voting, but that had no bearing on the coaches’ decisions.

The Cavaliers are well-represented in San Francisco, with Donovan Mitchell named a starter last week and Garland and Mobley now joining him. This is Garland’s second All-Star nod after being named in the 2021/22 season. Jarrett Allen also had a shot at a spot, but ultimately wasn’t voted in.

This is Jaylen Brown‘s fourth All-Star appearance, Lillard’s ninth, and Siakam’s third.

Western Conference reserves:

Wembanyama, Sengun and Williams are each first-time All-Stars. The reigning Rookie of the Year, Wembanyama has taken several steps forward to help the Spurs to a 20-24 record, putting them in contention for a play-in spot. Meanwhile, Sengun and Williams are key contributors for the top two seeds in the conference.

Edwards, in his third overall and consecutive appearance, is having a career year from beyond the arc, connecting on 41.8% of his 9.8 three-point attempts. We wrote earlier today about how the Grizzlies view Jackson as a bona fide star amid their 31-16 record this season.

Veterans Harden and Davis round out the West reserves. Harden, the most decorated reserve, is making his 11th appearance in the game while averaging 21.7 points and 8.4 assists per game in his age-35 season. Davis continues to be one of the premier defensive players in the league en route to earning his 10th All-Star nod. The Lakers big man is currently injured and out at least one week, but it’s unclear if that would affect his availability for the All-Star Game, which is still more than two weeks out.

Fresh off making the NBA Finals last season, the Mavericks won’t have a representative in the All-Star Game, with Luka Doncic injured and Kyrie Irving not earning a spot. The Kings’ Domantas Sabonis, the Clippers’ Norman Powell, the Suns’ Devin Booker and the Kings’ De’Aaron Fox were among those who were not named to the team.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Central Notes: Haliburton, Garland, Cunningham, Pistons

January 22nd, 2025 at 9:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tyrese Haliburton barely got off the bench when he was in Paris with Team USA for the Summer Olympics, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. That won’t be a concern when the Pacers face the Spurs on Thursday and Saturday, and Haliburton is looking forward to showing the French crowd what he can do.

“I’m excited to actually play — like, play — in this arena,” Haliburton said at a press conference Wednesday in Paris. “But I’m just excited to be here. It will be a fun atmosphere and a fun game.”

Haliburton brought home a gold medal, but he saw the least playing time of anyone on the U.S. team. Dopirak notes that Haliburton was dealing with a leg injury at the time and got into just three Olympic games, playing 26 total minutes and scoring eight points. He remains good-natured about the experience and said it was still special to be part of the Olympics.

“Definitely just life-long memories,” Haliburton said. “Regardless of what the experience was for me personally, I was a part of a group of 12 guys — there’s only 12 players that got to experience that. It definitely means a lot.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • Cavaliers guard Darius Garland is playing at an All-Star level, but tough competition might prevent him from being selected for the game, observes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. LaMelo Ball and Garland’s backcourt partner Donovan Mitchell are the leaders among Eastern Conference guards in the latest round of fan voting, leaving Garland to battle for reserve spots with Damian Lillard, Tyrese Maxey, Trae Young, Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham and Tyler Herro. “Listen, I’ll fight for (Garland),” teammate Tristan Thompson said. “I’ll be the bad guy. I’ll be Charles Oakley. I think Darius Garland should be (an All-Star), and everyone you guys put in front of him, he’s rang the bell and did what he had to do.”
  • Cunningham renewed his long rivalry with Jalen Green by posting 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Pistons defeated the Rockets on Monday. Their battles date back to AAU games when they were in eighth and ninth grade, Green’s father told Kelly Iko and Hunter Patterson of The Athletic, and they intensified after Cunningham was selected No. 1 and Green went No. 2 in the 2021 draft.
  • In a separate story, Patterson takes a mid-season look at the Pistons, who may be headed to the playoffs after winning just 14 games last season. He points to a few things that have helped Detroit exceed expectations, including Cunningham’s rise to stardom, the emergence of Jaden Ivey before suffering a broken fibula, the addition of Malik Beasley in free agency and the progress of second-year player Ausar Thompson and rookie Ron Holland.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Pistons Notes: Trade Deadline, Ball-Handler, Cunningham

January 19th, 2025 at 12:04pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pistons have been one of the most surprising teams of the 2024/25 season. After finishing last season with the worst record in franchise history (14-68), the Pistons are currently 21-21, on pace to nearly triple that abysmal 14-win total, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.

Detroit also has plenty of financial flexibility ahead of the February 6 deadline, as the Pistons are the only team operating with cap room ($14MM). They also have the $8MM room exception at their disposal to potentially make multiple deals.

Their strong play over the past few weeks reportedly has the front office thinking about making in-season upgrades rather than serving as a salary dumping ground, though a recent report indicated that a major roster shakeup was unlikely.

While Detroit could pursue a number of different trade opportunities over the next two-plus weeks, Sankofa cautions that the Pistons ultimately might decide to be judicious with their flexibility, giving the team more time to evaluate the roster entering the offseason.

Here’s more from Detroit:

  • Saturday’s four-point loss to Phoenix highlighted the Pistons’ need for a secondary ball-handler and play-maker to complement former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, according to Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Jaden Ivey had served in that role, but he might miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a broken fibula in his left leg. “It’s just got to be ball movement,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. “We keep talking about the diversity in our offense and just doing the next right thing. That’s one of the things, again, we’re continuing to work on. We don’t want to be a one-dimensional, ball-dominant team or dribble-dominant team.” Cunningham finished the game with 11 assists, half of the team’s total, but no other Piston had more than two, Patterson notes.
  • Cunningham’s teammates believe he should be an All-Star for the first time in ’24/25, per Sankofa of The Detroit Free Press. “It’s an honor to play with him as a young, up-and-coming superstar in this league and I think he’s starting to get the recognition and the clout that he deserves,” Tobias Harris said. “Extremely hard worker, extremely humble human being and an amazing teammate and leader for this whole group. … He’s playing at an extremely high level leading this group, leading this team and coming to play night after night. And not for nothing. He’s a dynamic offensive player but he’s also a very good defensive player, and he brings it defensively for our group as well. He’s been spectacular for us all season long.”
  • In case you missed it, Tim Hardaway Jr. is embracing his role as a veteran leader for the younger Pistons.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts