How Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. Will Make Cade Cunningham Better

The Pistons were absolutely abysmal last season. That’s no secret. Probably the most detrimental cause for their woes was their three-point shooting. They ranked 29th in 3PM, 27th in 3PA, and 26th in 3P%. In a league where the three-ball is king, stats like that are a recipe for disaster. 

It is, however, somewhat of a secret that Cade Cunningham is one of the future faces of the NBA. He had a fantastic, All-Star-level individual season in 2023-24 but it flew well below the radar because of how bad his team was. Heading into 2024-25, though, things seem to be coming up Cunningham. Here’s why.

Cunningham was held back the most last season by the severe lack of spacing. As mentioned before, the Pistons were an extremely poor shooting team. They lacked respected shooting threats across the lineup, and that resulted in their budding star having very little space to operate. For that reason, Cunningham finished with a 31st percentile 3PT shot quality grade and a 2nd percentile rim shot quality grade, via BBall Index. As pretty much the only real offensive threat on the floor, Cunningham saw ridiculously heavy amounts of defense that forced him into taking some very tough shots. Luckily, the former first overall pick is an impeccable tough-shot maker, but that type of offensive diet is not sustainable for winning basketball. 

Watch this possession. Cunningham receives a UCLA screen at the elbow, an action Detroit commonly ran to try to free up their leading scorer. As he looks to get downhill, both weakside defenders have feet in the paint and Embiid is eating up all the space at the rim. Being the elite bucket getter he is, Cunningham creates something out of nothing and hits the short jumper, but it was a terrible desperation shot he had to take because all avenues of escape were cut off. That’s the effect of having poor shooters surrounding a creator. 

The same thing happens here. All five Bucks defenders are within a few feet of Cunningham, preventing him from passing, and the excellent coverage from Andre Jackson Jr. puts the nail in the coffin, making it a wasted possession for the Pistons.

Heading into the offseason, everyone in the NBA world knew Detroit’s absence of shooting was a burning problem that needed to be addressed, and thankfully the team realized it. Via trade and free agency, they added players who will make a difference. Enter Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley. In 2023-24, Beasley made the 11th most triples in the league. Hardaway made the 19th most. Both are proven snipers who warrant tight closeouts and constant attention off the ball. They cannot be left open, and that fact opens the possibility for a very dangerous symbiotic relationship between Cade Cunningham and the two shooters. With the pair spotting up, Cade Cunningham will have much more real estate to do his thing. His efficiency should skyrocket and he’ll be able to apply more rim pressure. And, because he’s such a threat with the ball in his hands, he will continue to command extra defensive attention, and that will create easy looks for Beasley and Hardaway Jr. to feast on just like they did while playing with Giannis and Luka. 

It feels like such a simple concept because of how integral shooting is to success in today’s NBA, but the addition of real shooters to the Pistons roster is going to make such a difference. Hardaway and Beasley won’t be real needle movers in terms of wins and losses, but their presence will make it possible for Detroit to finally roll out a competent basketball team. And considering how bright Cade Cunnignham’s future is, that improvement is something to be very excited about.