The Detroit Pistons are something of sleeper hit team this year. Last season, they only won 14 games for the entire season, but this season is a totally different story. Not only has the team snagged 20 wins this season, but they have one of the hottest players in the league in Cade Cunningham.
With the Pistons’ win over the Raptors on Saturday, January 11, Cunningham inched closer to LeBron James and Nikola Jokić in a particular stat.
Pistons Point Guard Cade Cunningham Shines This Season
During Saturday’s game against the Raptors, Cunningham upped his number of triple-doubles for the season. Now, he has more triple-doubles than any other player this season except for James and Jokić.
During the game, Cunningham secured his seventh triple-double of the season with 22 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds. He teammates also performed well, with Tim Hardaway Jr. having a season-high 27 points, shooting 9-for-12 overall and 7-for-8 from 3 and Tobias Harris notching 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Pistons closed out the Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit with a 123-114 final score. Thanks to the win, the Pistons are back above .500 at 20-19 ahead of their game Monday night in New York City against the Knicks.
For the season so far, Cunningham is now averaging 24.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game, while shooting 38% from three-point range.
Heading into Monday’s game against the Knicks, Fantasy Pros named Cunningham one of their sleeper picks.
“Cade Cunningham continues his remarkable play for the Detroit Pistons, averaging 24.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game on a career-high .458 shooting. Cade is coming off a 22 point, 10 rebound, and 17 assist performance against the Toronto Raptors and should be rearing to go for his matchup against the Knicks,” they stated. “Cade posted a 29/10/15 triple double against the Knicks in their last matchup and dropped 22 on them in the other matchup this season. Cunningham has scored 22 or more points in four of his last five games.”
The NBA All-Star Weekend takes place in San Francisco, California, from Feb 14 through Feb 16. Cunningham is a favorite to make the cut this season.
Cade Cunningham and the All-Star Conversation
NBA analyst and expert Brady Fredericksen of Detroit Bad Boys says he believes Cunningham should “absolutely” make it.
“Absolutely. He’s not just scoring. He’s not just rebounding. He’s not just dishing assists,” he stated in a January 12 feature. “He’s proving to be one of the most versatile players in the league, let alone the Eastern Conference. #VoteCade'”
He also quoted his colleagues, who both agreed that Cunningham should make the cut.
“Oh yeah,” Lazarus Jackson said. “Between the improvement in wins and his jump in production, there’s a narrative and a case that he should be an All-Star.”
Ben Gulker added, “All Star debates are almost always a debate about criteria, and I typically find myself in the minority that prefers the best players from the best teams (the 2006 Eastern Conference reserves that featured 4 Pistons, for example). If I’m consistent, then no, Cade’s not a top 4 guard, but he’s near the top of the bubble.”