The Pistons are already in a spot where Cade Cunningham is carrying too much of the load, and Wednesday night made that painfully clear.
Against the Hornets, Detroit leaned on Cunningham for almost everything that resembled efficient offense. He logged 38 minutes in a game the Pistons should have been able to handle more comfortably, but that kind of workload is exactly what starts looking dangerous when the season is still fresh. With other injuries already thinning the roster, Detroit simply didn’t have the option of giving its star a real breather.
Cunningham finished with 30 points and 7 assists, and the Pistons still couldn’t get over 100. Detroit settled for 97 points, even with some help from the bench. The bigger issue was how little consistent scoring support he had around him once the game started to tighten up.
The Pistons have been trying to build a more modern offense this season, one that spreads playmaking around instead of asking Cade to do everything. That idea has fallen apart over the last two games.
Jalen Duren has been out with a hamstring injury since early in the second game, and Isaiah Joe has also missed time with a hip contusion. Both were expected to play major roles in the rotation.
Without Duren, and with the three-point shooting not showing up, Cunningham has been forced back into the same old role: carry the offense and do it for long stretches. That is not a sustainable ask, especially at a time when injuries are already piling up across the league.
He gave the Pistons another scare against Charlotte when he bumped knees with Brandon Miller. It looked minor, and he stayed in the game, but it was still the kind of moment that makes a heavy minutes load feel even riskier.
Detroit needs other paths to offense if it wants to protect him. That could mean better shooting, or it could mean growth from Ausar Thompson. Either way, the Pistons need something else to take pressure off Cunningham.
The encouraging part is that Cunningham has held up well over the last two seasons since the Pistons became a playoff team. He played 70 games two years ago and 64 last season, even with the extended absence caused by a collapsed lung from a freak accident. For Detroit, the hope is simple: keep him healthy, keep his minutes manageable, and give him a chance to pace himself before the wear and tear starts adding up.
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Pistons Suddenly Linked To A Scorer Who Could Change Their Ceiling
Tyler Herro is suddenly part of the conversation in Detroit after the Bucks blockbuster deal with Miami sent him into a new spotlight. For the Pistons, the appeal is obvious: he is the kind of scorer who can bend a defense, give a young roster another creator, and raise the offensive ceiling in a hurry if the right deal ever materializes.
Nothing is confirmed, of course, and that is where the intrigue lives for Detroit. Still, the fit is easy to see on paper, which is why the speculation has gained traction so quickly around a team that could use more shot-making as it tries to take the next step. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Suddenly Have A Frontcourt Need Precious Achiuwa Could Solve
Jalen Durens hamstring injury has left Detroit with a frontcourt hole at exactly the wrong time, and the Pistons are suddenly looking at their center depth a little differently. With Duren expected to miss a couple of weeks, the team has a short-term need that could easily become a bigger roster question if it does not find a way to stabilize the middle.
One name that fits the bill is Precious Achiuwa, who is now with the Sacramento Kings and has shown enough recently to keep him on Detroits radar. His contract is manageable, and his ability to line up at both center and power forward gives the Pistons a little more flexibility than a pure backup big would, which is why he makes sense as the kind of trade target that could help patch the frontcourt without forcing a major overhaul. [Read more 🡒]
Ron Holland Showed The Offensive Spark Pistons Fans Have Waited For
The Pistons kept rolling at Barclays Center, beating the Nets 110-94 to move to 5-1 overall and open NBA Cup play at 1-0. Cade Cunningham led the way with 20 points, but the bigger development for Detroit was Ron Holland turning in a season-high 18 points, a sign of the kind of offensive burst the team has been waiting to see from the young wing.
Detroit seized control with a 31-7 third-quarter run and turned defense into easy offense by forcing 24 turnovers, the sort of formula that has fueled this strong start. Hollands scoring outburst fit neatly into that picture, giving the Pistons another dimension on a night when their depth and pressure overwhelmed Brooklyn, and it leaves plenty of curiosity about how much more of that aggression can carry over as the schedule tightens. [Read more 🡒]