The Magic may have exposed the Pistons' biggest problem: Is Cade Cunningham a No. 1?
Detroit is on the brink of elimination, and while the roster has real flaws, so does its star.
There's the Cade Cunningham who spent six months as an MVP candidate, and there's the Cade Cunningham we're watching right now. The first Cade was fifth on my MVP ballot , averaged 24 points and 10 assists, and quarterbacked Detroit to a 60-22 record and the top seed in the East. The second Cade is shooting 29% from 3, just had back-to-back games with more turnovers than made baskets, and is the face of a 1-seed Pistons team trailing the 8-seed Magic 3-1 in the opening round.
Now, in fairness to Cade, he did suffer a collapsed lung that knocked him out of the lineup for 11 games. And despite his inefficiencies, he’s still averaging 29 points per game. Detroit also isn't built like a modern contender.
We can talk about the shooting. We can talk about the secondary creation. We can talk about Jalen Duren turning into Darko Miličić.
For the second straight postseason, Cade Cunningham has struggled in the first round. (Mike Watters-Imagn Images) IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS You can say Detroit doesn’t have enough shooting around Cade. True.
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