Pistons: 3 observations from Cade Cunningham’s Summer League

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 10: Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons and Jalen Green #0 of the Houston Rockets wait for the start of their game during the 2021 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on August 10, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 10: Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons and Jalen Green #0 of the Houston Rockets wait for the start of their game during the 2021 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on August 10, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Pistons, Cade Cunningham
Pistons, Cade Cunningham (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Cade Cunningham’s Pistons Summer League observations: 3. Cade vs. Jalen Green

The Pistons got blown out 111-91 by the Houston Rockets in their Tuesday night matchup, but from a head-to-head perspective, things went largely as they should as Cade Cunningham and No. 2 pick Jalen Green faced off for the first of many meetings.

It was no surprise to anybody that Green lit up the scoreboard with 25 points on a hyper-efficient 6-of-11 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. He’s going to be one of the best scorers in the NBA in no time, so putting up numbers in the Las Vegas Summer League should be easy for him, and it was.

Cunningham had a nice scoring night of his own with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting and 4-of-9 from 3-point range. He stuffed the boxscore with four rebounds, three steals and a block, and with even the slightest amount of help from his teammates would have had a lot more than two assists and fewer than four turnovers.

Pistons shooters have had a heck of a time trying to hit from long range, or cleanly catch passes in the paint, or do basically anything that involves catching a pass from Cunningham and then in some way soon thereafter scoring points with the ball. Even with his teammates’ struggles, it’s clear from a pure boxscore-watching perspective that he hung in well in a losing effort.