The Atlanta Hawks will unleash De’Andre Hunter on Cade Cunningham

The second stop on the Atlanta Hawks three-game road trip is in the Motor City to take on the Detroit Pistons who occupy 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings. They actually hold the third-worst record in the entire NBA with only the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets with worse records.

However, you would not know that over the last seven games where they hold a 5-2 record. Their only two losses were against the streaking Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards. In the five wins, they also beat the Celtics as well as the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

A big reason for this has been the play of Cade Cunningham. The No. 1 pick of the 2021 NBA draft has played well all season but has stepped it up over these seven games. He is averaging 20.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 0.8 steals in 32.9 minutes per game.

The Atlanta Hawks will use De’Andre  Hunter to stop Cade Cunningham.

Prior to the Chicago Bulls game, De’Andre Hunter was going through a mini-slump. He was not shooting the ball well, nor was he giving us the trademark Hunter defense. It was reported later that Hunter was suffering a non-Covid related illness during this period.

Thankfully he came out of the slump mid-way through the Chicago Bulls game and then was unstoppable against the Washington Wizards in a game that will prove to be one of the most pivotal of the season. It also coincided with his defense returning to its stingy best.

Hunter is so versatile on defense that he will be comfortable taking on the 6’6″ point guard. Given that Cunningham shoots the 3-ball at only 32.2 percent, Hunter will know that he can give the rookie a little room on the perimeter.

If Cunningham is able to drive past Hunter or the pick and roll separate the two, Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu will be waiting to stop the rookie. This is going to be a true test for the Pistons and Cunningham will need to show what he is made of to beat Hunter and the Hawks