The Detroit Pistons won their last game without their All-Star, and it remains to be seen whether Cade Cunningham will return to action on Tuesday when the Pistons host the San Antonio Spurs.
Cunningham was a late scratch on Sunday afternoon due to calf soreness.
Another starter for Detroit (40-32), Tim Hardaway Jr., sat out with a sprained ankle. The Pistons, who hold sixth place in the Eastern Conference, didn’t miss a beat offensively against the injury-riddled New Orleans Pelicans in a 136-130 victory.
Rookie Ron Holland matched a career-high 26 points off the bench while chipping in six assists (career best) and five rebounds. Another backcourt reserve, Marcus Sasser, pumped in 20 points while veteran Dennis Schroder, filling in for Cunningham, added 16 points and five assists.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff credits Holland, the fifth overall pick in last year’s draft, with having a team-oriented approach.
“When you come to the league, you go to a team that’s full of lottery picks and adding veterans — typically you’re going to have to find a niche off the ball for a little bit in order to find an impact. And Ron just has an understanding of how to impact winning,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s a fierce competitor, but he just doesn’t care what the play is.
“It can be an offensive rebound, it could be a steal, it could be a loose ball, a drive to the basket in transition, he just impacts winning every way, because it matters to him.”
Sasser’s minutes have diminished since the Pistons acquired Schroder at the trade deadline. Cunningham’s absence led to expanded minutes, though, and Sasser provided a major boost.
“Marcus Sasser has been through a lot with us,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s had opportunities. He’s had moments where he hasn’t played, but every time he plays, he puts himself in position to help his team win basketball games. I can’t say how difficult that is, but all I can tell you is how important it is to us, and what it means as a professional and how well he focuses on his craft.”
Holland and Sasser could get plenty of playing time again if Cunningham and Hardaway can’t go on Tuesday.
The Spurs (31-39) have won three straight to keep their hopes of a play-in spot alive despite season-ending injuries to Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox.
San Antonio pounded Toronto 123-89 on Sunday. San Antonio led by 20 points after the first quarter and never looked back.
“It was the most connected we’ve been, the most communication we’ve heard from the bench,” interim head coach Mitch Johnson said. “Just guys navigating actions, screens, things that were happening on the court. It has to take those five guys on the court to figure things out, and I thought (Sunday) they were absolutely tremendous.”
Devin Vassell scored an efficient 25 points (11-of-14 shooting). He has been hot this month, averaging 19.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in March.
“It’s funny, we went through that (midseason) stretch where there were a lot of alarms and concerns that maybe he had lost his powers, and now he’s making shot after shot,” Johnson said. “But he’s also impacting winning and doing a lot of the things that don’t show up on the box score — shifting on defense, tipping rebounds out, deflections.
“It’s really fun to see these guys improve and to be able to get rewarded with it at times.”
–Field Level Media
