In the midst of an abominable 17-game losing streak, the Pistons are looking for positives where they can. One of them is to see Cade Cunningham increase his 3-point skill percentages.
After 31% during his rookie season, then 28% last year over a very short sample, the Detroit point guard/guard posted a much more respectable 35% success rate this season, with a higher volume of shots (6 attempts per game). This allows him to get closer to his very solid level of skill displayed at university: 40% from 3-point range during his only season at Oklahoma State.
But the transition to the Big League was not easy for the first choice of the 2021 Draft, expected to be the offensive cornerstone of his new team. “ It was more about the legs for me. I was playing a lot, minutes I had never played in an NBA season before and I had to adjust to the NBA 3-point line. I just didn't have enough legs on my shot “, remembers the person concerned.
Paradoxically, it was when these started to go off the rails that he was able to work more on this shot. Last December, the Pistons announced that his season was already over due to a shin injury.
30,000 shots taken
Deprived of basketball activities for about three months, he then found a way to work on his shot and the curve of it. How ? By sitting… on a foam cushion placed on a massage table, itself located under a basket. The table in question was raised as high as possible so that he could shoot at a reasonable distance from the ground. “ I lay on the table so they could roll me over » he explains.
During these sessions, Cade Cunningham made sure his elbow was at a 90-degree angle and his hand placement was correct. And made sure to release the ball just to the right of his head, rather than in the middle, to get a better arc. “ I was able to concentrate on the details of the shot. I haven't really had time to work like this in a long time. », remembers the 22-year-old player in particular.
He was then able to gradually resume standing shots, while continuing to take seated shots: two days of standing shots, then one day of seated shots to rest his leg, before being able to jump again for real jump shots. Between the end of January and the “training camp”, Cade Cunningham would have taken more than 30,000 shots.
| 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 | 20 | 35 | 41.6 | 35.0 | 89.3 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 7.3 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 4.4 | 0.2 | 22.4 |
| Total | 96 | 33 | 41.6 | 31.8 | 85.8 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 18.8 | |
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.
