Pistons: 3 things to watch for against the Rockets in Summer League
By Duncan Smith
What to watch for from the Pistons: 2. Will they stagger Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes?
The backcourt duo of Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes was one of the most intriguing aspects of this Summer League adventure. Hayes was coming off a largely awful season that closed strong, but it doesn’t take much imagination to see how he and Cunningham could fit together as skilled playmakers and facilitators.
Not only that, but they’re also excellent defenders. Combining their strengths on the defensive side of the ball could only have an exponential effect, especially once the regular season gets going and they add Jerami Grant to the mix.
The way they’re used in the rotation will also be interesting to track. They played almost all of their minutes together against the Thunder, with all of Hayes’s minutes coming with Cunningham and all but three of Cunningham’s minutes coming with Hayes. Cunningham played 27 minutes, which meant there were 13 minutes of game action with both of these point guards off the floor.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the offensive lulls that allowed the Thunder back into the game after trailing big early came when Cunningham and Hayes were off the floor. Winning doesn’t really matter in Summer League, and getting the two of them reps and experience together and confidence in each other is most important, but it’ll be interesting to see if they’re staggered at all against the Rockets or once again rotationally handcuffed together.