It was a disappointing night at home for the No.1 seed Detroit Pistons after a 125-94 Game 7 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and star player Cade Cunningham did not hide his feelings after his exit from the Eastern Conference semifinals.

In the postgame interview, Cunningham said the game "s*****" when he was asked how he and the team felt going down in double-digits so early in the contest.

Cunningham also said, "I mean, stunning, it felt like early on, some of the players were bad bounces, or miscommunications, giving them points and stuff, it felt like it was something we would be able to fix, and we just never got it together. So, credit to them, they did everything they needed to do to win the game tonight, and we fell short of that."

Cunningham was anything but his usual self in the final game of the series, as he ended the night with a disappointing 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting with 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. He also went 0-7 from beyond the arc.

The Pistons technically should not have faced so much trouble in the postseason. Finishing as the No.1 seed with a 60-22 regular season record, it took the Pistons seven games to overcome the No.8 seed Orlando Magic.

But they were unable to muster up the same magic against the Cavaliers, as Donovan Mitchell came out of his slump to finish with 26 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. He also had help from the likes of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley to take control of the game.

As the Cavaliers now march on to face the mighty New York Knicks, the Pistons will have to find a new secondary star alongside Cunningham for any hope of reaching their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2008.

But despite the poor Game 7 performance, Cunningham had an overall impressive season with the Pistons, and his efforts have been rewarded for the same.

Cade Cunningham Finishes Inside Top 5 in MVP Rankings

Before Game 7, the NBA officially announced that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had won his second straight MVP award, with Cade Cunningham finishing fifth.

He finished just behind SGA, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, and Luka Doncic, cementing himself as one of the best players this season with an average of 23.9 points, 9.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds.

Cunningham received two first-place votes, one second-place vote, three third-place votes, 11 fourth-place votes, and 42 fifth-place votes.

According to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, Cunningham made history as the first American to receive at least one first-place vote since Steph Curry in 2021.

As the 24-year-old continues to grow with the Pistons, we will most likely see him climb even higher in the rankings and perhaps even win the MVP award outright as well.

So, do you think Cade Cunningham can help the Detroit Pistons reach the Eastern Conference Finals next season?

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Written by

Joy Bassy

Edited by

Souvik Roy