Fantasy News 4: Cade ‘N ‘Em
Cade Cunningham dropped 52 points in this week’s game against the Washington Wizards. Can the Pistons’ early season success translate into a deep playoff run?
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Cade and the Pistons are 8-3 to start the season. They are third in the eastern conference, just behind the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Last season, the Pistons were number one for much of the season. They looked dominant and unstoppable until they ran into some postseason troubles.
Cade is averaging 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists per game. He has been performing well, and just had a 52-point career night in a double overtime game against the lowly Washington Wizards. The Pistons got the win despite some clutch heroics from Trae Young and rookie AJ Dybantsa. Cade Cunningham had zero turnovers that night, which was impressive considering he was getting blitzed by Wizard defenders in every pick and roll/hand-off action. What crazy efficiency from Cade.
Jalen Duren continues to be out due to a right hamstring strain sustained 3 weeks ago. Despite his absence, the Pistons are the third best defense in the league. Ausar Thompson continues to be their defensive anchor in the perimeter, while Ron Holland, Daniss Jenkins, and Javonte Green provide a lot of scrappiness. Duren is a good defensive presence inside, but they would be probably ranked #1 defensively if they had better interior defenders. John Collins is known as more of a lob finisher than a defensive guy. Paul Reed is an undersized (6’9”) center, which is a disadvantage in today’s NBA.
The Pistons would certainly qualify for the playoffs, and they are definitely a top 4 team in the eastern conference. How can they do better than how they did last year? It seems that they did address some of their weaknesses.
Duncan Robinson has been an effective shooter, providing Cade his much needed space to operate the slow-paced pick-and-roll Detroit offense. Daniss Jenkins has been a solid secondary creator, but he will have to perform better as a creator if they want to go far this season. John Collins is an excellent PnR roll man. It seems that their offense has improved from last year’s one-dimensional Cade show.
If they can stay healthy, they could even be a top two, or even the east’s top seed. It is a long season, and Boston and Philly have some pretty bad injury profiles. The Pistons have a path to the top.
Laki Play PICKS:
Captain: Cade Cunningham
Vice Captain: Duncan Robinson
Key picks: Jalen Duren (if healthy), Daniss Jenkins, Ausar Thompson, Paul Reed
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