Despite the loss to Denver, Cade Cunningham had his best NBA game last night: 34 points at 14/26 shooting including 6/9 from afar, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 blocks. The first choice of the last Draft showed all his offensive qualities, with a little air of Brandon Roy in this way of creating openings and finding angles without a big change of pace. And then there was that moment when he sent Nikola Jokic flying…
“It’s really surreal”, he explained after the meetingcompared to its current good form. “I imagined these moments so much that I don’t feel out of place when I’m on the pitch. Nothing seems wrong to me. Being in the moment, after dreaming about it for so long, I’m proud of myself for putting myself in this position. I’m just happy to be here, playing the game I love. “
Of the 13 games in January, Cade Cunningham thus turns to 17.9 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.8 against, at 45.5% of success including 38.2% at 3-points.
The whistles linked to the number of victories?
The only downside to his performance against the reigning MVP, besides the loss, is that he did not attempt any free throws. It is already the 16th game (out of 38) that he has finished without appearing on the line. And since the start of the season, he has shot only 79 free throws, a little more than two per game. For a player who now carries the ball a lot, and who attacks the circle quite a bit, it’s very little… and that annoys Dwane Casey.
“He’s a real player”explains the coach. “He goes to the basket. He doesn’t get the whistles. He has to keep his cool, and it’s hard. I feel sorry for him, because he takes blows and he doesn’t receive the whistles. I was just telling him to talk to the officials and communicate with them, the right way. Because he’s going to be in this league for a long time, and those officials aren’t going to go away. “
Facing Denver, we saw him turn around, half annoyed, half taken aback, towards the officials after penetrations or low post play where he could indeed have obtained the fault. But that’s the game in the NBA: rookies, even first-choice draftees, have to work to earn the “respect” of officials.
“Maybe I need to use my voice more more”he details on what he can do to get the whistles. “Maybe scream, or something like that. Just keep playing the game. We’ll probably have to win more games to get a little more respect from the referees to whistle for us. “
| Cade Cunningham | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2021-22 | TED | 37 | 32 | 40.2 | 32.2 | 84.8 | 0.9 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 15.7 |
| Total | 37 | 32 | 40.2 | 32.2 | 84.8 | 0.9 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 15.7 | |
