NBA: Cade Cunningham coming along in Detroit loss

Cade Cunningham recorded his first career double-double in a 109-98 loss to the conference-best Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, November 4 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. After being selected with the #1 overall pick in July, Cunningham made his regular season debut last Saturday in a 110-103 win over the Orlando Magic. He struggled to find his rhythm against Orlando and Milwaukee, combining to shoot 0-14 from 3-point range in 48 minutes. It's obviously not ideal for a rookie to miss training camp, preseason, and the start of the regular season (because of a right ankle sprain) so I fully expect Cunningham to adjust to the tempo and range, and become a player the Pistons can build around.

The 6'8 point guard compiled a career-high 18 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists in his third appearance as Detroit dropped to 0-6 against teams with a winning record. Philadelphia currently sits atop the Eastern Conference with a 7-2 record despite being without Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons. Cunningham continued to show potential in another loss against Brooklyn on Friday, going for 17 points and four rebounds, including 3-7 on 3-point attempts. The Pistons are likely going to struggle all year as they rely on an inexperienced core but it's important for multiple prospects to develop as the season progresses. Cunningham became the first Pistons rookie since Grant Hill to record a double-double in his first three games.

"I just want to play my game because I feel like I'm pretty good with the ball in my hands. I haven't been efficient my first three games but I'm just getting more and more comfortable. My team encourages me to get the ball and be me so I'm going to continue to do that until they fall," Cunningham said in the postgame press conference following the loss to Philadelphia on Thursday night. "We're finding our synergy as a first group. I think we're getting the ball flowing more and we'll only grow and get better and better but we have to do that for four quarters. I think we played a little better today, just our flow offensively and we defended well for some spurts."

Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated.