OKC Thunder: Shakeup at the top of TI’s week 7 rookie ladder
No. 3 – Cade Cunningham: Detroit Pistons
For the top draft pick Cade Cunningham it must be a bit frustrating to watch the rookies who rank ahead of him playing on teams who have a genuine shot of getting to appear in the postseason.
Although he had to play catchup he’s found his groove but unlike the next two players, Cunningham has the advantage of playing regardless of the situation in the game. Dwane Casey isn’t going to yank him out of a game if his energy isn’t high enough or if he’s missing defensive assignments because the Pistons are fully committed to the tank.
On one hand that’s beneficial for Cunningham as he will learn in real-time. On the other hand, he’s not getting the advantages that Barnes and Mobley do of being on the court in winning situations learning the right way to ensure the victories happen.
Rookie category rankings:
- Turnovers: 3.7 – first
- Triple-Doubles – one (first)
- 3-pointers made: 2.1 – first
- 3-point field goal percent: 28.7%
- Assists: 4.6 – second
- Steals: 1.2 – second
- Points: 14.1 – tied (Mobley) second
- Double-Doubles: three
- Field Goals Made: 5.2 – three-way tie for third
- Minutes per game: 31.4 – fourth
- Rebounds: 6.3 – fourth
- Blocks: 0.6 – three-way tie for sixth
- Offensive rebounds: 1.0 – tenth
- Field goal percent: 37.1%
The Pistons played only two games in week seven losing both but Cunningham performed well in both. He scored 26 points on an efficient 10 of 13 including five 3-pointers (on seven attempts) against Portland. Cunningham continues to have issues with turnovers committing six in this match.
In the second game versus the Suns, he scored 19 points, adding two rebounds, five assists, a steal, a block, and five turnovers.
After weeks of struggling with his shooting efficiency week, seven was by far his best and hopefully signals he’s finding his rhythm and feeling more comfortable within the flow of the offense.