The Pistons' sad streak of 28 defeats ended in their last game of 2023 against the Raptors, with a victory that was experienced as a real deliverance for the men of Monty Williams. At the heart of the storm, the young leader of the team, Cade Cunninghamdid not parade.
On the contrary, he gave everything in each match to try to reverse the trend, and was ultimately rewarded in the same way as all his teammates that evening. Looking back, the Detroit leader confided that he experienced this mishap as a lesson in humility, which allowed him to learn a lot about himself and his abilities as a leader.
“It’s been one of the biggest humbling lessons of my life, just to refocus on myself and understand that there’s still so much work to be done.”, did he declare. “ I felt, even as a player, that something like that could never happen to me. I felt like I was too good, and that I couldn't do something like that. I understood and realized that it goes way beyond yourself, to feel comfortable with your own game. I had to learn how to make the game easier for my teammates, how to set up a system of game that the coach asked for my teammates, and how to make us all better. There is still a lot to learn, for me and the whole team.”
Never give up
With 23.2 points, 7.5 assists on average during the 28 games lost in a row by Detroit (and two points over 40 points), Cade Cunningham has never stopped setting the tone, shining with his scoring but also with his ability to highlight others. This is now his role: to behave as a leader whatever the difficulties.
“You have to continue to go there, to encourage the team and the group to win this match, to give energy… When things still don't go your way, over time, after so many matches, it becomes hard to continue this. But as a leader, there are no days off,” he added. “We have to continue to bring that. That's the main thing I learned… You have to continue to contribute by being strong for the group, even when things aren't going in your favor.”
Before winning against the Raptors, Detroit had a series of short defeats, demonstrating an improvement in the overall level of the team. Here again, we had to accept but never give up. And even if a new series were to emerge, it would still have to be faced.
“The last two weeks, we played good basketball, we were in contact in a lot of games, we gave ourselves the opportunity to win, the ball just didn't go in on several occasions. We're just going to keep moving forward. The season is not over. The season continues and we cannot escape these matches which are on the calendar. We have to keep going. It’s clear that it’s hard, when you know how much the city wants us to get there. We're not there yet. This victory lit a fuse. We want to see what's on the other side, and win for them.” he concluded.
| Cade Cunningham | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2021-22 | DET | 64 | 33 | 41.6 | 31.4 | 84.5 | 0.9 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 17.4 |
| 2022-23 | DET | 12 | 33 | 41.5 | 27.9 | 83.7 | 1.0 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 19.9 |
| 2023-24 | DET | 34 | 35 | 44.7 | 34.0 | 86.8 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 7.5 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 3.9 | 0.3 | 23.2 |
| Total | 110 | 34 | 42.6 | 31.9 | 85.4 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 19.5 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
