Cade Cunningham showed why he was a former first overall pick after a solid performance against the New York Knicks. On Saturday night, Cunningham gave the Knicks all they could handle as he recorded a monster triple-double. He logged a stat-line of 29 points, 10 total rebounds, and 15 assists. After the game, Cunningham expressed confidence in his own abilities and said he thinks he is an All-Star caliber player after being asked if he thinks if he is one this season.
“I believe I am,” Cunningham said. “Whenever I’m on the court every night, I feel like I’m the best player. I try to do whatever it takes to help my team win, and my teammates have made me look great this year. I’m just trying to help my team win and we’ll see what happens with it.”
Head coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, also had extremely high praise for his star player, including his work on the defensive end of the floor.
“(Cade) set the tone for the game,” Bickerstaff said. “Defensively we asked him to guard (Jalen) Brunson. I thought he did a really good job of keeping him in front of him and containing him. He played a complete game tonight and I was proud of his effort, but to see the growth from game to game and the things we talked about in Boston.”
“And to be able to carry it over to tonight, I thought, was really good.”
Detroit is currently 10-15 and 11th in the Eastern Conference. While they are still in position to be a lottery team, they are showing major improvements compared to last season. Much of that starts with the young leader of this Pistons core, Cade Cunningham.
Cade Cunningham Believes he is an All-Star
Cade Cunningham’s Amazing Potential
Cunningham is arguably having his best season of his career. If the Detroit Pistons can climb the standings a bit, his first All-Star nod is not so far-fetched. On the season, Cunningham is averaging 23.9 points, 0.9 steals, 7.3 total rebounds, and 9.4 assists per game. The former Oklahoma State product is also tallying a field goal percentage of 45.5 percent and a three-point shooting percentage of 39.3 percent, a career-best. He is also averaging an offensive rating of 109 and a defensive rating of 113. Cade Cunningham appears to be entering his prime and is starting to take leadership of this young Detroit squad. Given what he has showcased this year, there is a reason that Cunningham is the franchise cornerstone of the Detroit Pistons going forward.
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