Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham posted his best offensive statistics as a professional during the 2024-25 season. He averaged 26.1 points and 9.1 assists, shooting 46.9% from the field on 20.8 attempts per game.
The Pick-and-Roll Crutch for Cade Cunningham
Although Cade Cunningham posted fantastic offensive statistics last season, his style of play suggests he doesn’t have significant room for improvement. Throughout his NBA career, Cade Cunningham’s favorite play type has been the pick-and-roll.
Over his first four seasons in the league, Cade Cunningham has averaged 10.2 pick-and-rolls per game, which accounts for 42.8% of his offensive possessions. Cade Cunningham likes to run the play because it gives him a way to separate from his defender easily.
On February 24, 2025, Cade Cunningham had the ball at the top of the key with eleven minutes to go in the first quarter against the L.A. Clippers. He remained at the top of the key for a few seconds until Jalen Duren came over to set a screen.
Cade Cunningham went over the screen, allowing him to separate from his defender, Nicholas Batum. The separation allowed Cade Cunningham to take and make a pull-up three.
No Separation, No Problem… for Defenders
The play type was the only consistent vehicle that allowed Cade Cunningham to get separation from his defenders. This is because Cade Cunningham had difficulty separating from defenders without assistance due to a lack of foot speed.
Cade Cunningham had the ball on the left wing with four minutes to go in the first quarter in the same game against the Clippers. He remained there for a few seconds, waiting for Duren to set a screen. Unfortunately, Duren set a half-hearted screen allowing his defender, Bogdan Bogdanović, to stay with him.
Cade Cunningham tried to begin driving towards the basket by taking a couple of steps to the left. Unfortunately, Bogdanović shuffled his feet to the right to stay with him. The sequence repeated itself over and over again until Cade Cunningham attempted a contested jump hook near the free throw line.
Cade Cunningham’s shooting
Cade Cunningham’s lack of foot speed has forced him to take contested shots routinely. Throughout his career, Cade Cunningham has taken 44.3% of his shots with 2-4 feet of space in between him and the defender, averaging 8.3 per game. According to nba.com, this type of shot is considered to be tight defensive coverage.
NBA fans will most likely say that Cade Cunningham’s inability to generate separation is not a big issue, as there are other ways to score points. On the surface, they would be correct, as Cade Cunningham could be an off-ball scoring threat.
However, Cade Cunningham has been inconsistent with his three-point shooting over the first four seasons of his career. During the first two seasons of his career, Cade Cunningham made 32.8% of his catch-and-shoot threes on 2.9 attempts per game.
He has improved that percentage over the past two seasons, partly due to taking fewer catch-and-shoot threes. He has made 38.1% of his attempts on 2.7 field goals per game. The inconsistency has led to him having a career percentage of 35.5% on catch-and-shoot threes on 2.8 attempts per game.
Cunningham’s passing
Cade Cunningham’s lack of foot speed and inconsistent shooting have led him to rely on passing and mid-range shooting. Due to the weaknesses in his skill set, Cade Cunningham is consistently surveying the floor, looking to create scoring opportunities for his teammates.
On February 3, 2025, Cade Cunningham had the ball at the top of the key with two minutes left in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks. He took a few steps to the right before going over a screen from Duren.
After going over the screen, Cade Cunningham was guarded by the Atlanta Hawks center, Onyeka Okongwu, for a few seconds. Cade didn’t take advantage of the mismatch as he stood on the right wing, looking to see if one of his teammates was open.
After a few moments, Tobias Harris ran from the left wing to the free throw line, allowing Cade Cunningham to pass him the ball to attempt a midrange jumper. Cade Cunningham’s mentality played a role in averaging 54.1 passes per game throughout his career. He has generated seven assists per game, creating 18.6 points for his team.
How to defend him
Given his skill set, I suggest opposing teams go under the pick-and-roll screens set for him by his Detroit Pistons teammates. Going under screens increases the likelihood that he will have the opportunity to take a pull-up three after accepting or rejecting the screen.
Unfortunately, Cade Cunningham has struggled to make pull-up three-pointers throughout his career. He has made 30.2% of his pull-up three-pointers on 2.6 attempts per game. Consequently, it is the type of low-percentage shot that opposing teams should encourage him to take consistently.
Conversely, if Cade Cunningham decides to pass on taking a pull-up three attempts and tries to examine the other options on the table, opposing teams should not send a double team or attempt to help their center in a mismatch scenario. This is because he has struggled to get separation from centers off the dribble.
Cunningham vs Okongwu
Cade Cunningham had the ball on the right wing with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks. Cade went over a screen from his center, allowing him to get a mismatch as Onyeka Okongwu guarded him.
He took a few steps to the right towards the baseline, attempting to get separation from Okongwu. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful as the center took an L step with his left leg to open up his body. Consequently, Okongwu stayed attached to his left hip, leading him to make a contested layup.
Regardless of the situation, his skill set indicates that opposing teams should never devote extra attention to him. Cade Cunningham’s track record suggests he will have a hard time being defenders off the dribble. Consequently, his three-point shooting skills are the only avenue that he can use to create quality looks for himself, potentially.
Unfortunately, he has been inconsistent in that department throughout his whole career. Guarding him with a single defender will help opposing defenses, as the rest of the team can stay with their original assignment. Consequently, Cunningham will have to spend extra time surveying the floor to figure out where he can pass the ball.
If there isn’t an option available, Cunningham is unlikely to hurt you due to his lack of foot speed. He will most likely take a low-percentage three-pointer or a contested shot inside the arc. Given everything stated above, I don’t believe he has significant room for improvement.
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