I know I talk a lot of shit, but I understand that in reality being an NBA GM type can't be easy - if for no other reason than having to deal with actual human beings are opposed to everything being theoretical or in your head.
For example, it's one thing if I say 'hey, maybe the Pistons are better at this point without Cade Cunningham'. But it'll be a whole 'nother ballgame for Detroit's braintrust to actually bench him accordingly. And I can see both the positives and negatives of letting Cade ball. You can rationalize this decision by arguing that the Pistons will inevitably need him at some point in the playoffs. But on the downside, the way the team was hot, maybe they would have done better by waiting for that moment rather than instantly forcing him back into the spotlight.
WHAT MAKES A SUPERSTAR?
There's this old saying that in the NBA, a superstar is "a player who makes his teammates better". I don't know if I necessarily believe that 100%, but let's apply that argument to Cade.
Please forgive me if I don't feel like googling for exact statistics, but in summation, the Pistons started off the season really hot, to the point of Cunningham being in the MVP conversation and the team securing the number1 seed. Despite playing alongside a fellow allstar in Jalen "Woolridge" Duren, Cade is undoubtedly the face of the franchise.
Then, I think about a month ago, he suffered a "collapsed lung". Now I don't know exactly what a "collapsed lung" is, but shit sounds life threatening by default. But lo and behold, not only is he back for the postseason but even the team's very first game.
Now this is why, by that above definition, Cunningham would definitely be a superstar. The Pistons, under his leaderships, had gotten to the point where they actually playing better without him. So between October and March, when Cade was healthy, he did in fact make his teammates better, because if you go back like a season or two ago, when dude was hurt niggas was garbage.
And this isn't as much of an anomaly as some people may think. When Jordan retired the first time, the Bulls would have made it all the way back to the NBA Finals, without him, if not for that bullsh*t call on Hubert Davis. It was Pippen and them playing in the shadow under Jordan those previous years which got them to that level of greatness.
There was also a time, earlier this season, when the Thunder were virtually unbeatable without Jalen Williams. Yeah, you really did make your teammates better, mate - so much better that now they can score without you.
SHOUTOUT PAOLO
Readers of this blog can attest to the fact that I've been very critical of Banchero's style of play, like he's DeMar DeRozan, despite being the size of a baby ram. But now you see your boy finally crashing the paint and reaping the benefits thereof. He's like a latino Lebron or some shit, like get in his way if you want.
In fact, the league as a whole is starting to re-realize how important the post is, you know, as the easiest place to score from on the entire court. Lebron also recently had his 'wait a minute' moment, with the Rockets paying the price. So these teams that are built to defend solely from the perimeter, they're going to have some big problems into the foreseeable future.
In a way, I guess you can say Shai started this trend, but I think it also has a lot to do with the decline of Steph. Now that his magic is on and off, everyone else is starting to come back to reality. Talk about influential.
CONCLUSION
The way the Pistons were rolling, even if Cunningham was ready to come back, there was really no need to rush it. But if they do go on to experience an extended playoff run, I guess the sooner he's back into the mix, the better(?).
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