Pistons vs Pacers Discussion: Game Time, TV, Odds, and More

Cade Cunningham needs to find his groove on offense against Indiana’s B team

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What is the story about?

If this game has high drama, the Detroit Pistons have likely done something very, very wrong. Detroit, which eked out a win despite nearly the entire roster playing a subpar game against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, looks to rebound tonight against the 10-win Indiana Pacers. Indiana has the worst record in the Eastern Conference and is tied with Washington and New Orleans for the fewest wins in the NBA. And even by their subpar standards in this gap year, they aren’t going to be their best selves

this evening at Little Caesars Arena. Indiana will be without Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, TJ McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin, and Aaron Nesmith tonight. Siakam, Nesmith, Nemhard, and McConnell all played last night in Indiana’s win over New Orleans. Siakam and Nesmith are officially getting the night off for rest while Nemhard and McConnell are being held back for injury management. That four-some represented 66 of Indy’s 127 points against the Pellies. Jay Huff scored a career-high 29 points in that game, and I guess he’ll need to be even better tonight.

Speaking of being better, I hope Detroit’s returning veterans are able to deliver a better showing than they were able to against the Suns. Phoenix’s aggressive, handsy defense gave them fits all game, and nobody looked in rhythm. Despite the double-double, I’d wager it was Cade’s worst game of the season. He is just returning from a wrist injury, and will reportedly try a different style of wrap tonight. It’s not just that Cade missed, shots, though he did do that (3-of-16). It is that his decision-making was downright awful. He continually dribbled into the teeth of the defense without a plan, he didn’t clock defenders in passing lanes, he coughed the ball up with little resistance, and he didn’t create many advantages. That was probably the first game this season where it felt like he wasn’t dictating anything on the offensive end. Against Indy’s b-team, I’m hoping Cade is aggressive, is firing early and often. I want him to keep shooting even if the shots aren’t falling early. He’s got to either get more comfortable with whatever condition his wrist is in, or he needs to sit out a few more games until he is truly healthy.