The battle between the teams in the Eastern and Western Conference playoff zones ended with the Timberwolves losing 105-119 to the Pistons on the road, suffering their third consecutive defeat. Notably, the Pistons' record has reached 17 wins and 18 losses, close to eighth place in the East, as they have emerged from the gloom of being at the bottom of the league last season. It is clear that the Pistons, like the Rockets last season, are starting to soar and rise. The player who has made the Pistons rise is undoubtedly the number one pick, Cade Cunningham. Currently, CC is indeed the undisputed leader of the 21st session.
Cunningham has been steadily improving every year since entering the league four years ago. This year, he averages 24.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 9.5 assists, with a shooting percentage of 45% and a three-point percentage of 37.6%. Obviously, these statistics are very Harden-like; he is a younger version of Harden. Then there's Jalen Green, the second overall pick, who has been stagnant for four years. Evan Mobley, the third overall pick, is quite good, but his strength is indeed not as good as Cunningham's. Fourth overall pick Scottie Barnes is gradually becoming mediocre, Jalen Suggs has reached his ceiling, and Franz Wagner is okay, but he doesn't belong to the Five Kings.
Comparing and contrasting, you will find that Cunningham is indeed the strongest presence in the 21st session. We can only say that the Rockets regret choosing Jalen Green with the second overall pick instead of going all-in for the first overall pick. At that time, the Pistons were selling the first overall pick, and they were doing it to maximize their interests by showing it to the Rockets. If the Rockets had offered their second overall pick, plus two first-round picks at No. 20 and an additional No. 16 pick to go all-in for the first overall pick, the Pistons would definitely have swapped with the Rockets. Mainly because after the Rockets lost Harden in 21, they desperately needed a new ball-handling core.
Analyzing with hindsight, the Rockets' four first-round picks, Jalen Green, Shen Jing, Garuba, and Toffu tied together are not as good as CC. Look at Cunningham's performance today; if the Rockets had gone all-in for Cunningham in 21, they wouldn't have Van Jordan now, and they would continue to introduce Dillon. Then the configuration given to Cunningham would be a group of gorgeous forwards, and the Rockets' upper limit would be higher than it is now, rather than having no core and not finding a decisive role. Cunningham can both organize and play key shots. Today, facing Edwards, Cunningham can say that he has the upper hand.
From the start, Cunningham went crazy, combining offense and defense with his brother Ousmane Thompson. Cunningham organized and attacked, while Thompson locked down Edwards. The Pistons' offensive wave quickly opened up the gap. Cunningham was unstoppable, and the Pistons led 33-28 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Cunningham repeatedly broke through the basket to tear apart the space, and the Pistons' one-star four-shooter system shone brightly, with the Pistons leading by as many as 18 points at one point. The Timberwolves could only rely on Hua Zi to barely hold on, trailing by 12 points at halftime. Hua Zi already had 26 points.
In the second half, the two teams continued with their old tactics. The Timberwolves relied on Hua Zi's piecemeal efforts, while the Pistons, under Cunningham's leadership, had everyone contributing. Hardaway hit a three-pointer, Harris scored a mid-range shot with his back to the basket, Duren and CC cooperated on a pick-and-roll to get easy baskets, and the Pistons' lead reached 21 points. After that, Cunningham faced off against Edwards again, and the Pistons steadily maintained the initiative. Hua Zi scored 44 points in three quarters, but the team still trailed by 15 points. In the fourth quarter, Hua Zi scored another 7 points, and the Timberwolves closed the gap to 12 points. But the Pistons always had someone stepping up, and Cunningham's two points directly killed the suspense.
In the entire game, on the Timberwolves' side, Edwards scored 53 points and 6 rebounds with 16 out of 31 shots, including 10 out of 14 three-pointers, which was useless because Hua Zi was attacking alone, but Cunningham could drive his teammates. Cunningham scored 40 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds, shooting 15 out of 29 from the field and 4 out of 8 from beyond the arc, extremely efficient. In addition, Harris scored 16 points and 11 rebounds, Beasley scored 23 points, Ousmane Thompson scored 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 steals, already with 5 steals in the second quarter, and Duren scored 5 points and 7 rebounds. Now the gap between Cunningham and Jalen Green is simply too big. Although the Rockets are campaigning for Jalen Green to be voted into the All-Star Game, it's not very effective. On the other hand, Cunningham ranked sixth among Eastern Conference guards in the first round of All-Star voting with 247,046 votes.