DET 131, PHI 109: Cade Cunningham Tops Scoring Fest
Marcus Thompson Jr.
Fire Lieutenant ยท Golden State Warriors fan
Pistons Blowout 76ers Without Their Stars, But Don't Get Cute with Depth Adds
The Pistons put on a clinic last night, 131-109, and the headline is obvious: the 76ers played without Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey. So let's cut through the noise. This was a game where Detroit's role guys got to eat, and Philly's bench had to carry water they weren't built to carry. For fantasy purposes, that's important context.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Edwards | 42.0 | 41.3 | 12/9/5 | 4.8/1.4/1.2 | +7.2 |
| Cade Cunningham | 43.0 | 38.5 | 8/5/13 | 25.1/5.6/9.9 | -17.1 |
| Jalen Duren | 36.0 | 32.0 | 14/10/2 | 18.6/10.6/1.7 | -4.6 |
| Javonte Green | 39.0 | 29.9 | 17/2/1 | 6.8/2.8/0.7 | +10.2 |
| Duncan Robinson | 40.0 | 29.4 | 19/2/4 | 11.9/2.6/1.9 | +7.1 |
| MarJon Beauchamp | 32.0 | 29.2 | 17/6/2 | 8.7/2.3/1.7 | +8.3 |
| Isaiah Stewart | 35.0 | 29.0 | 13/5/4 | 10.0/5.1/1.2 | +3.0 |
| Kevin Huerter | 29.0 | 28.8 | 12/4/4 | 9.8/3.5/2.5 | +2.2 |
| Quentin Grimes | 23.0 | 28.1 | 14/3/5 | 13.0/3.6/3.4 | +1.0 |
| Tobias Harris | 29.0 | 26.0 | 15/5/2 | 13.1/5.1/2.2 | +1.9 |
The Real Story: Cade Had an Off Night
Look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. Cade Cunningham is an All-NBA caliber player (All-NBA Third Team last year), and he came back to earth last night. 8 points on 3-6 shooting is flat out bad, even though he dropped 38.5 Yahoo FP thanks to 13 assists and 28 minutes of floor time. He's -17 points from his season average. That's a guy who got out of rhythm early and never found his groove. But here's the thing, and I say this as someone who's been in fantasy for 15 years, one bad game doesn't change the evaluation of an All-NBA guy. The assists were there, the volume was there. This looks like fatigue or a bad shooting night, not a trend. Don't panic on him.
Jalen Duren was limited to 14 minutes, which tells you Detroit was cruising. He put up 32 Yahoo FP on decent efficiency (6-7 FG), but the minutes were the real story. When you're winning by 22, starters get the night off.
The Winners You Actually Care About
Justin Edwards went absolutely nuts and he wasn't even supposed to be the guy. The 76ers were down their two best wings in Embiid and George, so Edwards got 29 minutes and went 5-11 from the field with 12 points, 9 boards, and 5 assists. 41.3 Yahoo FP. He's +7.2 from his season average. Now, real talk: he averages 4.8 points a night. This was a role expansion situation. The second Embiid or George come back, Edwards shrinks. I'd pump the brakes on buying him right now, even though he's trending up on the waiver wire (+0.2% ownership). This is a sell-high candidate if you somehow got him.
Duncan Robinson and Javonte Green both caught fire from three. Robinson went 7-10 from the field with 5 threes for 40 ESPN FP. Green was 5-8 with 4 threes for 39 ESPN FP. These guys are specialists, and when they're getting run in a blowout situation, they're gonna splash threes. Green especially is moving the needle in ownership (+0.2%), but remember: he's a 6.8 PPG guy in 19 minutes a night. Don't chase role expansion noise.
Philly's Depth Guys Stepped Up (But That's All It Was)
MarJon Beauchamp had a solid game, 17 points on 7-13 shooting. +8.3 from his season average. Quentin Grimes ran the offense a little bit, 14 points with 5 assists. Cameron Payne looked competent off the bench, 15 points in 18 minutes. None of this matters when Maxey comes back. When you're missing 29 PPG from your point guard, everybody else's role balloons. Don't touch any of these guys in free agency thinking they're suddenly rotation locks.
One Name Actually Worth Monitoring
Dominick Barlow got 26 minutes for Philly and showed up on the trending adds list (+0.2%, 2.2% owned). He's a deep bench center who put up 23.8 Yahoo FP with decent efficiency (5-10 FG, 1-1 3PM, 2 steals). Here's why you might care: if Andre Drummond misses time or Philly leans on spacing, Barlow's a guy who can pop in 12-team leagues. He's dirt cheap in terms of usage and he got legitimate run last night. I'm not saying grab him immediately, but he's someone to monitor if your waiver wire is absolutely depleted.
The Bottom Line
The Pistons looked good, but they also blew out a skeleton crew. Cade had an off night and will bounce back. Most of Philly's depth guys who looked good last night are bus riders waiting for their stars to come back. Don't overreact to blowout box scores, especially when half the team is in street clothes. This is a get-right game for Detroit, nothing more.