Keith Langlois

Cade Cunningham, perhaps on his way to a career game, instead was on his way to the showers.

“I’ve seen a lot worse to get ejected for than that,” Dwane Casey said after Cunningham was banished – for pointing. “They said Cade pointed at the guy that he dunked on or whatever. I didn’t see that part of it. I think he was pointing toward his teammates.”

Cunningham’s ejection probably didn’t cost the Pistons a win, which would have been their fifth straight at home, but it did suck the air out of a Little Caesars Arena crowd that had just “oohed” at one end for Devin Booker’s tip jam and “ahhed” 11 seconds later over Cunningham’s balletic dance around Cam Payne along the baseline and explosion into a reverse dunk over Jalen Smith. Cunningham punctuated the dunk, as his momentum carried him to the sideline opposite the Pistons bench, by pointing back in the direction of the basket – or the bench, take your pick.

Cunningham accepted culpability for getting T’d up but says his pointing wasn’t intended to be taunting at all.

“I had my people right behind the bench, so I went baseline to dunk the ball and he’s right in between me and my people,” Cunningham said. “I probably should’ve read that a little bit better. But I don’t really get into taunting too much. I realized the situation after he tech’d me up. I didn’t think I was going to get a tech, so I tried to holler at coach Monty (Williams of Phoenix) over there and let him know, good game.”

It was interpreted as taunting by the officiating crew and an automatic ejection for Cunningham, who’d picked up a first technical earlier in the third quarter for disagreeing with a foul incurred as he attempted to break up a lob pass to JaVale McGee. The No. 1 pick left with 21 points on 9 of 15 shooting with 4:24 left in the third quarter. Cunningham’s career high of 29 came six days earlier when the Pistons rallied from 22 points down to beat Utah. Josh Jackson was also ejected in the final minute when he and Phoenix’s Ish Wainwright were each assessed a technical, Jackson’s second of the game.

“Cade’s a big part of our team,” Cory Joseph said. “And Josh. So when things happen like that, obviously it’s unfortunate. Cade had it going. I don’t know exactly what happened on the play. I wasn’t able to watch it again. Definitely a big-time loss for both of those guys to go out of the game.”

Casey might have taken issue with the Cunningham and Jackson whistles, but his broader message to the Pistons is to build their resume before engaging officials in banter over calls.

“We’re not in position as a team to complain,” he said. “Let me be the bad guy to fight for us. As a young team, we shouldn’t get that reputation of complaining to the officials. And until we get to that level, we’ve got to button up and zip up and play our butts off.”

They did that for a delightfully entertaining first quarter that ended with Phoenix up 39-35 on the strength of 80 percent shooting. But the storm clouds were gathering. The Pistons aren’t likely to match the firepower a shootout demands against a team of Phoenix’s caliber. The Suns came in with an NBA-best 32-9 record and left remaining on pace to win 64 games.

“They’re very talented. They had it kind of going on all cylinders,” Joseph said. “They were getting it inside to the big fella and finishing. Everybody was hitting their shots. Devin was hitting everything.”

Booker, indeed, hit almost everything, including 9 of his first 10 shots on his way to 30 points in 30 minutes. Phoenix had six double-figures scorers including a pair of 20-point scorers off its bench, JaVale McGee and Payne. They combined to hit 17 of 22 shots. Phoenix finished at 58.6 percent shooting.

“They’re a championship-caliber team,” Casey said. “We know that. We’re not at that level. Our goal is to get there, but the way you get there is learn things from the mistakes you make.”

Cunningham got to his 21 points despite hitting only 1 of 3 3-point shots, doing his damage in the paint or the mid-range and largely by crafty manipulation of pick-and-roll opportunities.

“The game is slowing down for him,” Joseph said. “He’s a very smart player. He has size, uses his body well. He can shoot the ball, as well. He has all aspects. He can get to the paint and finish, shoot that jumper over smaller guys and he can shoot the three. He’s definitely going to see blitzes and double teams throughout his career. He’s learning as he goes and doing a hell of a job.”

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Early exit for Cade as Pistons fall to Phoenix

Three quick observations from Sunday afternoon’s 135-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns at Little Caesars Arena

WHAT’S THE POINT? – The Pistons were down 20 points to the juggernaut otherwise known as the Phoenix Suns when Cade Cunningham was ejected after a spectacular baseline drive and reverse dunk, so maybe the outcome of the game wasn’t altered by that decision. But it didn’t sit well with Dwane Casey, the Pistons bench or the Sunday matinee crowd to see the rookie slapped with a second technical and automatic ejection amid a thoroughly entertaining game with the No. 1 pick at the heart of it. Cunningham had picked up a technical earlier in the third quarter after he was called for fouling JaVale McGee while trying to defend a lob pass. Cunningham pointed back toward the Pistons bench or the basket after his dunk from his landing spot on the opposite sideline, but apparently it was perceived as taunting the two defenders Cunningham evaded to complete the dunk, Jalen Smith and Cameron Payne. Cunningham offered no apparent objection to the call, but his ejection darkened the mood of a Little Caesars Arena that otherwise enjoyed an often-remarkable display of shot-making from both teams but especially Phoenix and Devin Booker in particular. The Michigan native scored 30 points on 11 of 18 shooting in 30 minutes. Cunningham finished with 21 points on 9 of 15 shooting plus four assists in 24 minutes. The loss snapped a four-game Pistons home win streak. Phoenix, on pace to win 64 games, improved its NBA-best record to 32-10. Josh Jackson also picked up a second technical foul for a minor scuffle that also saw Phoenix’s Isaiah Wainwright assessed a technical foul in the game’s final minute to earn an ejection.

OLYNYK’S RETURN – Kelly Olynyk was on the active list, but he missed his 32nd straight game since suffering a Grade 2 medial collateral ligament sprain of his right knee in a Nov. 10 win at Houston. Olynyk’s return could be imminent, though, Dwane Casey suggested prior to the game when he said he wasn’t yet ruled out for Sunday’s game. “We hope so,” Casey said when asked if he expected Olynyk to return while the Pistons are on their four-game road trip that opens Tuesday night at Golden State. “He was going to see how he felt today. We’ll look and see where he is.” With Olynyk nearing his return, the Pistons get a little more size and can now choose to use Trey Lyles at center when it suits their needs rather than out of necessity. The loss of Olynyk was compounded by the December thumb injury that has sidelined Jerami Grant for more than a month, further thinning out the frontcourt. Lyles has provided steady scoring since seeing his role increase with Olynyk’s absence, averaging 15.1 points and 6.9 rebounds over his last nine games. He’s one of two NBA players – Brandon Clarke of Memphis the other – to average 10.0 or more points and 7.0 or more rebounds for January off the bench. With Olynyk back, Lyles figures to get his minutes at power forward with the second unit, though Casey can still use him at center when facing smaller lineups.

STANLEY’S STANDING – Cassius Stanley has been part of Dwane Casey’s second unit playing as an undersized small forward in three-guard lineups that include Saben Lee and Cory Joseph, but that might be coming to an end. Stanley signed a second COVID-19 hardship 10-day contract on Jan. 8 and that will expire before the Pistons play next at Golden State on Tuesday. His spot on the second unit could wind up going to Frank Jackson, though, as he’s close to returning after first injuring his ankle on Dec. 29 and then entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Jackson went through Sunday’s walkthrough, Dwane Casey said, though he was ruled out for the game on the NBA’s official injury report. Jackson was again listed under “health and safety protocols” on the Sunday report, though Casey expressed his surprise at that news given Jackson’s presence at Little Caesars Arena prior to the game. If Jackson is, indeed, not in health and safety protocols, then the Pistons would have no spots for an emergency 10-day contract for Stanley or anyone else. If it was Stanley’s last game on this tour of duty with the Pistons, he went out on a high note, scoring eight points to go with three rebounds and an assist in 22 minutes.

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Pistons lose to Suns as Cade’s ejection riles crowd

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Photos: Pistons 108, Suns 135

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Sound Up: Pistons vs Raptors

“We stayed together, we kept our heads down and kept going, and we played well.” 🎙Listen in as Trey Lyles, Hamidou Diallo, and Head Coach Dwane Casey talk about last night’s wire-to-wire win at home with Sound Up

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Photos: Pistons 103, Raptors 87

Dwane Casey’s Toronto teams became identified with their embrace of 3-point shooting, the way the Raptors developed young players and how Casey trusted them with big moments. But around the NBA, what teams thought of mostly when they saw the Raptors on the schedule was a long night ahead. Nobody was more physical than Casey’s Raptors.

It’s where Casey wants the Pistons to go as one of the NBA’s youngest rosters matures. Count Friday as a very positive step forward. It was a choppy game – 30 fouls called in the first half alone – and it wasn’t always easy on the eye. But it was a thing of beauty for those looking to see a young team get fed up with being bullied. Coaches talk about playing with force and taking the fight to the other guy. That’s what the Pistons did in Friday’s 103-87 win over Toronto.

“From the jump,” Canadian native Trey Lyles said. “I’ve said in the past, we’ve had opportunities to hit the team first and we came out lackadaisical. But I think tonight, our energy was where it needed to be at the start of the first quarter and the third quarter and it showed in the outcome of the game.”

It was the first wire-to-wire win for the Pistons in nearly a year, since Jan. 25, 2021 – a span of 95 games. The 16-point margin of victory was their biggest of the season and it made them 5-3 in January. It was also the fifth straight win over Toronto dating to the start of the 2020-21 season and Casey is now 8-3 against Toronto since coming to the Pistons.

The win came at the expense of a Toronto team very nearly at full strength – only Gary Trent Jr. among rotation players was missing – and coming off a six-game win streak snapped only in its most recent game, a four-point loss to Phoenix.

“It was a good bounce back,” Casey said. “I said before the game, tonight is going to determine a little bit of our backbone and see who we are. We bounced back with the proper approach, focus, energy.”

The Pistons remain without three key players: Jerami Grant, Kelly Olynyk and Frank Jackson. They’re figuring things out and it starts with their brilliant rookie, Cade Cunningham.

Lyles had 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench in 33 minutes, every one of them needed because of persistent foul trouble for Isaiah Stewart. Hamidou Diallo had 18 points and six rebounds, Saddiq Bey 15 points and Josh Jackson 13. Cunningham tied it all together with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and just two turnovers as the Pistons committed a season-low eight turnovers.

And when Toronto made its inevitable run, stringing together a 13-0 spurt after the Pistons took their biggest lead at 21 points three minutes into the fourth quarter, it was Cunningham for whom Casey drew up the game’s biggest shot – and the unflappable rookie who drained the shot.

The plot was hatched when Toronto called timeout after Killian Hayes’ twisting drive and layup broke the 13-0 run with 3:14 left. The Raptors called timeout and got a quick basket from Pascal Siakam to again pull within eight. Casey schemed a play that led Cory Joseph to find Cunningham in the corner near the Toronto bench and he coolly banged home a triple for an 11-point lead with 2:41 left. Game over.

“I’m in the gym every day and I see Cade put the work in,” Lyles said. “When it comes down to it, he’s doing it every day so it’s second nature to him. It’s rare to see a rookie with that kind of composure down the stretch. Kudos to him for doing that and being confident in himself.”

“They were making a run. I was proud of our team, the way we stopped that run and came out with the right approach,” Casey said. “That’s where we really made up our mind and were locked in and focused.”

It was a dizzying roller coaster of a week for the Pistons, who sandwiched two impressive wins – coming back from 22 down to beat Utah by 10 on Monday and the wire-to-wire takedown of Toronto on Friday – around an all-time clunker, a 46-point loss at Chicago. But ups and downs aren’t the exclusive domain of the Pistons, lest you lose track of what goes on all around the league. The Bulls, No. 1 in the East, have followed that 46-point win with consecutive losses by 26 and 42 points, both on their home court.

The Pistons are chasing a consistency that even title contenders and veteran teams find elusive. But they’re showing the rest of the NBA that they aren’t going to be willing victims of bullying any longer.

“I feel like last game, we came out there and we weren’t ourselves,” Diallo said. “We didn’t have no pride out there. Tonight, we wanted to not come out like that. We wanted to come out and make sure we were the aggressor, hit first, just give ourselves a chance from start to finish.”

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Wire-to-wire win as Pistons topple Toronto

Three quick observations from Friday night’s 103-87 win over the Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena

GUTTER FIGHT – The Pistons were 3 of 19 from the 3-point arc with four minutes left in the third quarter when Cory Joseph had to heave one up off one foot to beat the shot clock after the Pistons won a jump ball. It was, inarguably, the worst 3-point attempt of their night … and it went in. It stopped a 9-0 Toronto run that had halved an 18-point Pistons lead and started a 14-6 close to the quarter that enabled the Pistons to take a 17-point lead to the fourth quarter. They went more than six minutes and 10 possessions without a point as Toronto put together a 13-0 run to pull within eight after the lead had stretched to 21, but Cade Cunningham’s clutch triple with 2:41 left restored the lead to 11 and ratcheted the pressure down a few degrees. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was a game the Pistons controlled early by taking the fight to Toronto with a physical style of play and defensive intensity. The Raptors shot just 32.6 percent overall and were a dismal 34.6 percent inside the 3-point line. Toronto had its six-game win streak snapped in its last game, a four-point loss to Phoenix, and the Raptors came into the game at 20-18 and in the East’s No. 8 playoff position. The Pistons are now 8-3 vs. Toronto under Dwane Casey and they’re 5-0 since start of 2020-21 season. Trey Lyles finished with 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Cunningham was superb with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

FOUL FEST – What started off as a game with great flow broke down into a choppy, foul-filled game quickly. By the time the second quarter was a little more than five minutes old, the Pistons already had three players on the bench with three fouls apiece – two of them non-starters. Isaiah Stewart was limited to six first-half minutes with three fouls, while Cory Joseph and Cassius Stanley picked up their three fouls each in only five minutes apiece. Three other Pistons picked up two fouls apiece in the first half and five Raptors players were whistled for two first-half fouls. The first 26 possessions of the second quarter saw 19 fouls called. By halftime, the Pistons had been hit with 17 fouls and the Raptors with 13 and the teams had combined to shoot 34 free throws. The Pistons average 21 fouls – they picked up that many less than four minutes into the second half – and 21.5 free throws a game; Toronto averages 19.8 fouls and 20.4 free throws. Within the first two minutes of the third quarter, both Stewart and Killian Hayes were saddled with their fourth fouls. Hamidou Diallo picked up his fourth soon after. Toronto’s Pascal Siakam became the first player to get to five fouls when he picked it up early in the fourth quarter. The pace of fouls slowed greatly after the midway point of the third quarter, though, with the Pistons finishing with 25 fouls to Toronto’s 24.

ON THE MEND – The COVID-19 wave that washed over the Pistons might have ebbed, but they’re still without three of their rotation staples. Next to return figures to be Frank Jackson. Jackson went down in the Dec. 29 loss to the Knicks and the Pistons announced the next day he would be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days. Before that time lapsed, Jackson became the ninth Pistons player since late December to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols. He’s now listed as “return to competition reconditioning.” According to Dwane Casey, Jackson’s ankle won’t be a thing that delays his return. “His ankle’s better. He’s just got to get back in condition. He had symptoms, so he’ll have to pass the cardiac testing.” In 33 games, Jackson has averaged career highs in minutes (23) and points (10.7) per game. He’s shooting 33.3 percent from the 3-point arc after a career-best 40.3 percent last season, but Jackson had recovered from a slow start. He shot 30.7 percent from three through November games but hit 37.5 percent in 12 December games. Casey said earlier this week that Olynyk was likely to return ahead of Grant and he hoped it would be relatively soon.

Keith Langlois

Early exit for Cade as Pistons fall to Phoenix

Pistons lose to Suns as Cade’s ejection riles crowd

Photos: Pistons 108, Suns 135

Sound Up: Pistons vs Raptors

Sound Up: Pistons vs Raptors

Photos: Pistons 103, Raptors 87

Wire-to-wire win as Pistons topple Toronto

Pistons roll up their sleeves, beat the Raptors (again)