Cade Cunningham Thrives For Detroit Pistons In Season Opener
Former Oklahoma State superstar basketball player Cade Cunningham is heading into his fourth season in the NBA -- all of which have come as a member of the Detroit Pistons. While he only played 12 games in year two, he's going to be able to pile his experience to try and have a breakout season in year four.
In the Pistons' season opener, Cunningham showed out, putting up 28 points, five rebounds, eight assists and a steal while converting on ten of his 23 shot attempts, including shooting 2-for-6 on 3-pointers.
Cunningham had a very visible effort on both sides of the floor, making an evident winning impact.
While the Pistons fell short to the Indiana Pacers, there's certainly reason for optimism in Detroit. Their defense was solid in the first half, though their late-game execution wasn't enough, which is typical for a team set to go through growing pains.
Cunningham is playing for yet another head coach, as Monty Williams was fired and JB Bickerstaff was fired for the Pistons this past offseason. That doesn't change that the club is majorly lacking floor spacing, but it might change the scheme that allows Cunningham to thrive as a star player.
Last season, the former Cowboys superstar averaged a career-best 22.7 points per contest, adding 4.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists. If he can improve on that this season while leading Detroit to a slight turnaround, it'll be hard to ignore his arrival as a star.
Detroit and the former Oklahoma State superstar might've taken a 115-109 loss, but there's something to build from after their season opener, and Cunningham seems primed for some sort of leap this season.
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Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's On SI in 2022