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Pistons' Cade Cunningham Earns High Praise for Defense vs LeBron James

Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff liked what he saw out of Cade Cunningham against LeBron James.
Justin Grasso|
Nov 4, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Nov 4, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

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Detroit PistonsLos Angeles Lakers

Monday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers could be viewed as a statement game by Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham.

Going into the matchup, the Pistons were looking to pick up their first set of consecutive wins this year after defeating the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night. Cunningham was a man on a mission against a LeBron James-led Lakers team that was clear favorites in the matchup.

Cunningham’s offensive brilliance was on full display Monday night. While he had a below-average scoring outing by his standards, he still produced 17 points, becoming one of six players on the Pistons to notch double-digits against the Lakers.

Beyond the scoring, Cunningham dished out 11 assists. As he matched his assist number with his rebounds, the young veteran notched the third triple-double of his young career, climbing a Pistons history leaderboard.

As much as Cunningham shined on the stat sheet, Detroit’s head coach, JB Bickerstaff, wanted to point to the veteran’s defense during his postgame press conference. As Cunningham took on the tough task of getting moments going against the NBA’s all-time scoring leader, Bickerstaff was left impressed with his franchise leader.

“He has the ability to be a great two-way player,” Bickerstaff told reporters. “He’s got great size. He’s got great intelligence, and he doesn’t have any fear. I thought he did a great job.”

Cunningham wasn’t tasked to exclusively guard LeBron, but he certainly did his part in slowing down the future Hall of Famer throughout James’ 40-minute showing in Detroit.

LeBron put up 16 shots from the field, generating seven makes. He scored 20 points on the night. The Lakers star made it a double-double outing as he accounted for 11 assists as well.

The Pistons put the Lakers away with an upset win, defeating them 115-103. While there is a lot of season left, the Pistons’ 3-5 start has been encouraging, especially for the growing star Cade Cunningham.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia

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