Cade Cunningham scored 19 of his 33 points in the 4th quarter to help the Detroit Pistons hold off the Memphis Grizzlies last night, but he didn’t help himself at the line.
Cunningham has been outstanding in the 4th quarter so far this season, as his 67 total 4th-quarter points lead the entire NBA.
Cunningham has been deferring more early in games to get his teammates involved and shake some of the double teams, but turns it up in the 4th quarter as he evolves into one of the game’s best closers.
Cunningham hit 60 percent from the field last night and 50 percent from 3-point range, but there was one area in which he struggled, as he only hit six of his 10 free-throw attempts, including missing a technical, something that has been [problematic in the young season.](https://pistonpowered.com/troubling-preseason-stat-that-could-haunt-detroit-pistons)
Cade Cunningham has to hit a higher percentage of free throws
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After missing four more last night, Cade Cunningham is hitting just 78 percent of his free throws on the season, so he is leaving a lot of points at the line, something that will show up late in games.
Luckily, Cade is an 85 percent free-throw shooter for his career, so this number will eventually return to the norm, but it’s really been one of the only concerning parts of his game so far and when you are superstar, nitpicking on the details is all we have left, as he’s good at pretty much everything else.
Free-throw percentage is even more important for Cunningham this season, as he is getting to the line more often, shooting 6.8 free throws per game, highest of his career and up 1.5 attempts from just last season.
Cunningham is finally getting the superstar whistle, and as his attempts continue to go up, he’s got to hit them, or it won’t matter.
Free throws were one of the main things separating Cunningham from other MVP candidates, as guys like Giannis and SGA are shooting upwards of 10 per contest. Cunningham isn’t as big a foul baiter as SGA, but free throws can be a huge weapon for him, as Cade often has a size advantage, and fouling is sometimes the only way to stop him.
If Cunningham wants to get into the MVP discussion for real, he has to keep getting to the line more often but has to cash in the ones he is getting, as it could be the difference between being a 30+ ppg scorer and will cost the Pistons some close games.