Cade is the Engine to Motor City’s Success.

Written By: Kekoa O’Neil

Contributor | Sideline Society Media

Fresh off a first round exit in last year’s playoffs against the New York Knicks, the Detroit Pistons looked as if they were ready to show improvement but not on the verge of breaking through to becoming the kings of the East quite yet. A major reason for their success however is from their star point guard Cade Cunningham. Now in his 5th year in the league, we have seen him take strides to improve some part of his game every single year. Averaging a career high 9.8 assists this season to go along with 25.5 points he has led the Detroit Pistons to not only being the number 1 seed in the East but tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the fewest losses in the entire league.

Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, Cade has the perfect body frame for the modern day “big guard”. He has taken consistent strides this year in perfecting his playmaking ability and using his bigger frame to score over smaller guards. When watching him play this year you can tell something he worked on in the offseason was also playing with pace. While playing with pace can mean a variety of different things, for Cade you can see that it’s him never getting sped up or slowed down based on what the defense is doing. Rather, it’s him being able to control his pace of play and make the defense adjust to him.

One thing I’ve noticed in particular this season with him is his ability to crab dribble after calling for a pick and roll. This particular move is when a player shields the ball by turning his back toward the defender while crouching and driving laterally. What this does is have the defense at his mercy allowing Cade to create a post-up opportunity, navigate tight defense, or create extra space so he can get a clean look at the rim. This is one of many facets of his game that he has shown improvement in over the years.

As a superstar you want to show that you are never satisfied no matter how well you do the previous season. From game one of this NBA season it has been clear that Cade is on a mission to get Detroit back on top of the Eastern Conference and with about 20 games left in the season he has done just that.

The success of the Pistons coupled with the season he is having has put him as a top 5 candidate for MVP.

Even with their storied franchise, the Pistons have never had a player win MVP,

so if Cade was able to accomplish this it would put him in rare air and he would be in conversation for best Piston ever.

Every night he steps on the floor he feels he is the best player out there and that’s the mentality an MVP candidate like him should have.

Whether or not he wins it remains to be seen. As the season progresses he’s emerging as a serious candidate to take home the award.

Cade Cunningham statement game at Madison Square Garden!