Cade Cunningham gained his first All-Star selection last season. The Detroit Pistons guard appears well on his way to earning that distinction again with the way he’s playing early this season.
The Pistons are off to a 5-2 start, thanks to the production of their floor leader. Detroit will be seeking its fourth straight victory when it hosts the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Cunningham is averaging 28 points and 12 assists during the current streak. He posted a 30-point, 10-assist double-double against Orlando, then supplied 21 points and a career-high tying 18 assists against Dallas in Mexico City.
Cunningham delivered the knockout blows against Memphis on Monday, scoring 19 of his 33 points during the fourth quarter of a 114-106 victory.
“He’s a bad man, and that’s it,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “When it’s winning time, you got to have a guy like that on your team, and we are extremely fortunate to have him because there’s not a play that he can’t make. There’s the courage in his bones to take those shots, make those shots. Obviously, 19 points in the (fourth) quarter closed the game out for us, separated the game for us down the stretch. I can’t repeat it. You watched it. You saw how spectacular he was (Monday).”
He got plenty of assistance from Isaiah Stewart, who was inserted into the starting lineup with Tobias Harris sidelined by an ankle injury. Stewart erupted for 26 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.
“It’s his heart, it’s his courage, it’s his determination, it’s his grit. His love for the Detroit Pistons, the city of Detroit,” Bickerstaff said. “He plays for them. He plays for his teammates, and he was undeniable (Monday).”
The Jazz have won four of the last five meetings against Detroit. Utah snapped a three-game losing streak on Monday, as Jusuf Nurkic’s last-second putback gave it a 105-103 win over Boston.
“So many guys I feel like played well and had big moments,” coach Will Hardy said. “It’s a great team win for us. That’s who we have to be. We’re going to have to win ugly. We’re going to have to win close. We’re going to have to have a lot of people have moments in the game for us to win.”
The Jazz are in the midst of a five-game road swing. In the first two legs of the trip, they lost to Phoenix 118-96 and Charlotte 126-103.
“I think all of us took pride (vs. Boston),” Utah guard Keyonte George said. “We all realize we’re all young, and there’s no reason why our energy level should be as low as it was last game. We felt like we just shot ourselves in the foot (at Charlotte).
“The good thing about the NBA is you get another chance either the next day or two days. We kind of just took the opportunity, and, you know, I talk about respecting the game. We actually respected the game.”
George scored a team-high 31 points against the Celtics, the first time in six games that Lauri Markkanen didn’t lead the club in scoring. Markkanen is averaging 31.1 points per game.
