The first time Cade Cunningham went to the bench, the Cleveland Cavaliers went on a run, and a close game turned into a big Cavs lead. They never looked back. The Detroit Pistons were thoroughly embarrassed in a 116-95 loss in front of a frustrated Little Caesars Arena crowd.
Every single flaw that has the potential to haunt the Pistons this season was on full display against Cleveland. The Pistons had no spacing, they had no ball handling, they had countless careless turnovers, nobody could create offense for themselves or for others. It was a true horror show.
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In a battle of two stars, Cade Cunningham and Donovan Mitchell, Mitchell lapped Cunningham three times over. The Cavs star finished with 38 points on 18 shots, and had five highlight reel nasty moves as he scored in a multitude of ways. Cunningham, meanwhile, couldn’t make the six or so tough shots he was forced to take, and he couldn’t take the four easy shots he is fully capable of knocking down. He finished the night with 12 points and more turnovers (five) than baskets (three). Cade’s five turnovers led the team, but it was a family affair as the Pistons ended the game with 25 miscues.
The Pistons were already a light-shooting team with depth issues, and they were playing this game without Jaden Ivey, Caris LeVert, and Marcus Sasser — three ostensible ball handlers and shooters. That meant when the Pistons were hoping to be competitive, they were relying on Daniss Jenkins and Javonte Green to give them valuable minutes. They were not up to the challenge.
Not against one of the best teams in the league. Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Deandre Hunter all made several Pistons defenders look silly all night.
The saving grace for the Pistons was limited to Ron Holland who simply continues to do good things on the floor, with the ability to push the ball up the floor, finish at the rim, and hit enough jump shots to keep defenders honest. He finished with 11 points, one of just four Pistons players in double figures, including a quick 11 garbage-time points for Tolu Smith.
Simply put, it’s really hard to win games the way the Pistons are trying to win games early in the season. They are forcing the ball into tight spaces in the paint because they have young players much more interested in finishing at the rim than trying to hit a catch-and-shoot opportunity. They don’t seem interested in trying to create space and easy looks, instead they just want to yam it into a defender’s face.
That’s not going to work in an 82-game season. The Pistons need to get a little healthier, and they need to rethink what their offensive game plan is going to be. They need to make things easier on Cunningham, they need to try to design better open look for their few shooters, and they need to stop thinking if they drive to the rim everything is going to magically work out.
Or there will be plenty of games like the Cavs loss in their future.
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* [Detroit Pistons Game Day](/detroit-pistons-game-day)
* [Pistons Scores](/pistons-scores-results)