Cade Cunningham is playing 8 more minutes a night for Detroit
His workload has jumped sharply over his last three games without a matching jump in scoring.
Cade Cunningham logged 42.3 minutes a game in his last three outings. That is 8 minutes above his season average of 33.9, through games up to May 17, 2026, in the 2025-26 season for the Pistons.
The scoring did not move much. Cunningham averaged 24.3 points over those same three games, barely above his season mark of 23.9. More time on the floor did not turn into more production. That gap matters because it shows the extra minutes came from a bigger workload, not a hot stretch.
For this to hold, Cunningham has to handle the extra 8 minutes a night without his scoring rate dropping. If his points per minute slide as the extra time piles up, the Pistons will have a fatigue problem on their hands. If his output stays flat at this higher workload, it points to a real expansion of his role rather than a short-term bump.
The number to watch next is whether 42.3 minutes becomes his new normal or snaps back toward 33.9. A reversion would say this was a short-term adjustment. A hold would say Detroit has permanently leaned more on him.