Game 14: Pacers (6-9) @ Pistons (3-10) - Nov. 17 7:00 PM EST

[Liqourish]

Cade has skill as a first step, he doesn't have a problem getting past his man when he wants

but Cade is slow, and unalthetic. How can this be?

Jalen Green blows him out of the water athletically, but skillset wise its clear Cade is far ahead. For a kid just 20 to be able to cross good defenders over the way he has already this season and take it to the rim and score is really impressive.

It's probably another reason why he would really, really excel with 4 guys that can shoot, and also some of those guys being good at making cuts and moving without the ball when players go to double Cade.... because if you isolate Cade at the top of the key and you have four good offensive players around him great things should happen.

Which is why I keep saying he needs a shooter next to him and not another ball handler.

[Liqourish]

Pistons 0-4 without Cade. 4-5 with Cade.

0-5 without him. 4-5 with him. That's the biggest stat for Cade right now with so few games under his belt. Let's not also forget, Other teams played more than the Pistons to start the season. Most rookies have 15-16 games under them. Cade has 9.

[vege]

If Grant had Cades statline tonight everyone would be upset with him shooting 1 for 8 from deep.

Cade missed 2 wide open 3's where Indiana missed the rotation and he had like 3 seconds to shoot and nobody bothered to try to contest at all, they just tilted, and he still missed both shots.

But when the game was on the line he was very good again, and his defense with Hayes was insane.

He is far from perfect, but I am excited with what I see from him so far.

[MotownMadness]

Figured he would be up there but damn that's impressive (clutch stats are in the final 2 mins of games)

Read on Twitter

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[Manocad]

I love the backhanded compliments Cade gets. Start with a criticism then finish with a Captain Obvious statement. Like telling your girlfriend "Your ass is nowhere near as nice as your sister's, but I still love you."

[zeebneeb]

Figured he would be up there but damn that's impressive (clutch stats are in the final 2 mins of games)

Read on Twitter

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This goes into the whole;

"You can't speed him up" "he's unflappable" "He plays at his own pace".

This is an inherent trait, that cannot be taught. All great crunchtime players have...this "way" about them, and I would akin it to a great firefighter that walks into a fire without thinking, scoops up the person, and walks out, as if it's nothing.

I'm not sure if it's the complete lack of fear, or caring about the outcome, but not what happens to get there.

This bodes extremely well for him, and the Pistons organization. Having a Supreme closer is so hard to find, and combined with a do it all type of player is just next level.

I cannot believe, and I won't until an entire season has passed with mountains of data, that Cade Cunningham is what he appears to be. It just seems to good to be true after years of draft nightmares, and disappointments.

I also want to add that scoring is but one part of getting it done when it counts. Its rebounding, steals, blocks, assists, setting the right screen, e.t.c. Cade, so far, does all of that when the games on the line.

[440BB]

It's awful early to say this but I haven't trusted a rookie to make winning plays in crunch time like this since Isiah. This kid is a winner.

[vic]

Cade reminds me of Luka. Didn't get the comparison before the draft, but after having watched these last 9 games, and having watched almost every single Mavs game since Luka got drafted(no joke), the way he collects stats seemingly out of nowhere is eerily close. Besides that;

They both like getting the rebound and playing heads up, with 4 players (teammates)ahead of them. Passes the ball with ease down court for easy layups. When he gets them, Cade loves using the pick and roll, to grease his way into the lane and make a decision on what to do. He has an excellent floater at the rim, can get to the rim using a bevy of moves, can also kick it out for the easy three.

It's really, really wierd watching Cade play after having seen so many damn Doncic games.

What you have to do is compare Cade to Young Luka and the similarities are just insane. He also has that clutch gene that has made Luka a household name. I could really go deep(Cade likes to fade to the left at the top of the arc, and make the cross court pass over the top to the open shooter)but its really freaking me out. Pace, movements, slipperyness, passing, it's all there.

One thing he does have is a quicker first step, a bigger wingspan, and huge hands.

Its early, but the returns are fantastic so far.(Luka also struggled shooting from the outside early on as well)

I believe you, Cade has even said that he “grew” up watching Luka, which is weird considering they are both so young. But Cade was probably a freshman in HS when Luka came on the scene in Dallas.

One thing people don’t realize is Luka shoots a lot of big shots but he’s actually a subpar 3point shooter and he has gotten worse every year. Luka is a star because of his IQ and he uses the threat of the 3 pointer as a weapon to space the court even though he only makes 31% of them.

Cade is not as strong as Luka but with his defense and leadership he could but just as effective as Luka.

[breezypeezy]

Still excited over that recent 25/8/8 stat line.
Young Mr Cunningham is going to do great things.
Have a feeling another big 3 pointer night is coming from him against the DUB"s.