Chicago Blowouts, All-Star Weekend, and George Blaha | The Weekly Drive
Cade played a few minutes in the All-Star Game, a byproduct of the NBA's new, worse, format.
Hey there Pistons fans, and welcome back to the Weekly Drive. It may be the All-Star break, but that doesn’t mean we are taking any time off. For the first time in a long time, there were players with “Detroit” on the front of their jerseys participating in All-Star festivities. Let’s get into it.
Game Recaps
Game 54: Detroit 132, Chicago 92
Rapid Detail: Windy City? No, blowout city. The Pistons led by a franchise-high 42 points at halftime, demolishing a bad Bulls team that is stuck in the worst place to be - NBA purgatory. Chicago missed their first 20 shots from deep, making things even easier for Detroit.
Game 55: Detroit 128, Chicago 110
Rapid Detail: The Pistons beat up the Bulls in the paint, outscoring them 68-48 en route to their fourth-straight win. Detroit gets some good momentum heading into the All-Star break. Cade Cunningham was the star of the show with a 29-point effort, but Jalen Duren continued his solid play with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Oh, and Ausar Thompson continues to show why he was in the Rising Stars game.
Rising Stars Recap
Ausar Thompson, along with his twin Amen, participated in the Rising Stars challenge on Team M, but they came up just short against the G League team 40-39. In ten minutes of court time, Ausar finished with four points, one rebound, and two assists. Amen led Team M with 11 points, but he did turn the ball over three times.
Three-Point Shootout
Cunningham’s first All-Star participation came in the Starry 3-Point Contest, though the night belonged to Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro. Cade was eliminated in the first round, scoring 16 points, but struggled out of the gate going 2/11. Buddy Hield, Darius Garland, and would-be winner Herro outscored him, resulting in an early end.
On a related note, why wasn’t Malik Beasley, who is second in the league in three-point makes, not in the contest?
Cade’s First All-Star Game
The main event on Sunday night was the All-Star Game, in a bizarre new format. The players were split into four teams (with the winner of the Rising Stars Game acting as one of them) with a single-elimination format that resulted in a total of three games. Cunningham was on Kenny Smith’s “Young Stars” squad, coming off the bench, scoring five points in five minutes of action.
That was the only five minutes Cade played all night, so he was done for the evening by 9:00 p.m. EST. Pretty unfortunate.
News and Notes
The Pistons and Shinola announced an exclusive NBA All-Star Weekend collaboration, including a Wall of Cade - a tribute to Cunningham’s first All-Star nod.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that legendary Detroit Pistons broadcaster George Blaha has been awarded the 2025 Curt Gowdy Media Award for electronic media.
Former Piston Wendell Moore, who was cut during the trade deadline, recently signed with the Charlotte Hornets according to ESPN.
Remember Killian Hayes? He is determined to make it back to the NBA after getting cut by the Brooklyn Nets before the season.
Did you watch any of NBA All-Star weekend? Any thoughts on the new format for the game itself? Personally, I did not enjoy it. From the intrusions of Kevin Hart to not seeing guys play beyond the first game of the night, I think there is room for improvement. LeBron James and Anthony Edwards didn’t even play, citing some injuries.
Let’s get back to the regular season, and be sure to check us out on Playback as the Pistons make a playoff push.
See you next Monday.
Mike