Nikola Jokic was a 20-year-old rookie six years ago and how do you not dream about where Cade Cunningham and the Pistons might be in 2028 after watching the reigning MVP and the potential Rookie of the Year go moment for dazzling moment on a mid-winter night at Little Caesars Arena?
If Jokic’s ridiculous line from Tuesday’s 110-105 Pistons loss to Denver – 28 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists – gives him momentum for a repeat MVP bid, then Cunningham’s equally preposterous numbers – a career-best 34 points plus eight rebounds, eight assists, four blocked shots and two steals – surely pushes him closer to the front of the Rookie of the Year chase.
If you think it’s a little crazy to think that Cunningham was matching heavyweight blows with the NBA’s MVP – a guy who averaged 10 points a game when he was that 20-year-old rookie – well, so does Cunningham. But only sort of.
“It’s definitely surreal,” he said. “I’ve imagined those moments so much that I don’t feel out of place whenever I’m out there. Nothing feels fake to me. Just being in the moment after dreaming about it for so long. I’m proud of myself for putting myself in this position and I’m just happy to be here playing the game I love.”
Cunningham hit 6 of 9 3-point shots, giving him six games with five or more triples made this season – the most for any player in NBA history through his first 38 career games. He’s come a long way from the kid who missed his first 18 threes. Take those away and Cunningham is hitting 36.1 percent from the 3-point line – and climbing.
“When he does that, it opens up the floor. Now it opens up his driving game,” Dwane Casey said of Cunningham, averaging 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists. “That’s one area that’s really improved with Cade is his 3-point shooting and I firmly believe it’s contagious. I think that’s what happened with all of our guys starting out the game.”
Cunningham drained three triples in an 82-second span of an electric first quarter that had Little Caesars hopping. One of them, a step-back triple off a crossover, had Jokic reeling.
“It’s awesome,” Frank Jackson said of the home crowd in his first game since spraining his ankle Dec. 29 and then contracting COVID-19 while he was rehabilitating. “When we play with a little fight and grit, this city gets riled up.”
Jackson’s return gives Casey’s second unit a jolt for his 3-point shooting and penchant for heating up in a hurry.
“The way he came in today, it felt like he hadn’t missed any time,” Cunningham said after Jackson contributed 11 points in 14 minutes. “To have him back is going to be a big help. He’s a huge piece for us.”
The Pistons are hopeful they’ll be whole soon with Kelly Olynyk, who returned from a 33-game injury absence last week only to enter NBA health and safety protocols, and Jerami Grant nearing their return. They’ve won more games in January (six) than they did in the 2021 portion of the schedule (five) and are poised to gather some momentum heading into a 2022-23 season that could be a pivotal year in general manager Troy Weaver’s restoration.
That starts with Cunningham building off the eye-opening results he’s generating with increasing frequency. The 34 points topped his previous career best of 29 from … two weeks ago.
“He’s a gamer,” Casey said. “He’s going to the basket and not getting the whistle” – Cunningham, amazingly enough, didn’t shoot a single free throw in 40 minutes. “I feel for him. He’s going in there, getting hit and not getting those calls. But he’s got to keep attacking and using his size and length.”
Cunningham became the sixth Pistons rookie to ever put up at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists, joining a group that includes Dave Bing, Grant Hill, Isiah Thomas, Greg Kelser and Kelly Tripucka. He’s the only rookie to have that line in the NBA this season. That it didn’t add up to a win speaks to the brilliance of Jokic.
Jokic, a 26-year-old center from Serbia, and Cunningham, a 20-year-old guard from the United States, have one overriding trait that gives them more in common than their surface differences: They’re basketball geniuses. They truly defy positional pigeon-holing. And such players are the rare breed that give life to the cliché of a player who makes everyone surrounding him better.
“He’s going to continue to ball and do his thing,” Jackson said. “It’s fun to watch him grow this year. It’s a blessing to play beside him.”