DETROIT – The fallout from the selection of All-Star reserves was still being felt on Friday as Kyrie Irving was not included on the Western Conference squad by the coaches.
On the other side of the coin, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, an Arlington native who was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2021, will be making his first appearance in the All-Star Game.
The Irving news was tough to digest for coach Jason Kidd.
“I was a little shocked that he didn’t make it,” he said. “But there’s a lot of talented people in the West that didn’t make it. So, again, Luka and Kai are All-Stars, whether they get in or not. We keep pushing forward. It’s unfortunate, but Kai’s numbers speak for themselves. There’s nothing he can do about that but continue playing good basketball.”
Irving took the news in stride.
“Not really disappointment,” he said. “It’s more or less just what it is. Just accepting it and moving forward.”
Said P.J. Washington: “Everybody knows Kyrie’s one of the better players in this league and should have been an All-Star. But it is what it is. We can’t really get mad. We just got to keep what’s in front of us in front of us.”
As for Cunningham, who attended Bowie High School in Arlington, before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida and staying one season at Oklahoma State, it’s well-deserved as he is third in the league at 9.3 assists per game in addition to averaging a career-best 25 points per game.
“It allows guys to understand that they belong,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “When you’re on a journey trying to reach the goals you’re trying to reach, to get acknowledged by the league, but (also) to see that coaches obviously respect what you’re doing, I think, says a lot.”
And as if to validate his selection, Cunningham went out and dropped 40 points on the Mavericks in the Pistons 117-102 win Friday.
“Coaches value not only individual performance, but your impact on teammates, you’re impact on winning,” Bickerstaff said. “Being on both sides of the ball. All those things matter. To be able to get that nod is huge from a confidence standpoint. These guys want the respect of their peers. Being an All-Star, being in the playoffs, being a champion, those are the levels that you get to (in order) to earn that respect.”
Providing veteran leadership: Tim Hardaway Jr. has been a nice addition for the Pistons since getting traded in July from the Mavericks in the Quentin Grimes deal.
Hardaway, in his 12th NBA season and with his fourth team, is averaging 10.9 points and shooting 37.8 percent from three-point range.
He and Tobias Harris are the senior members of a team that is largely comprised of players who have been in the NBA four years or less.
“He’s been awesome,” Bickerstaff said. “Everything we’ve asked him to do, he’s done. He’s bought into what we’re trying to do and understanding this wasn’t a Finals team. This was going to be a process that we were going to start from the ground and work our way up.
“And he came in and was on board with that right away. He’s had some individual nights where he’s won us some games or brought us back in games with his ability to make shots. The pressure he puts on defenses because of his ability to space has helped our young guys develop. So he’s been great for us.”
On Friday, he made his mark by hitting two of five three-pointers and scoring nine points to go with five rebounds.
“He’s played well for them,” Kidd said. “He’s a veteran leader with a young team. It’s good to see Timmy playing well.”
Briefly: Luka Dončić (strained left calf), Dereck Lively II (right ankle), Maxi Kleber (right foot) and Dwight Powell (hip) all remained out for the Mavericks. The Pistons were missing big man Isaiah Stewart, one of their best interior defenders . . . Kidd on doling out 15 minutes for players who are on minutes restrictions like Exum and Hardy: “There’s a lot of planning to make sure we don’t go over those minutes. If someone gets hot, we can always ask for a couple minutes. But it’s about their health and getting them through this stretch of minutes restrictions.” . . . The job of protecting the paint has fallen primary on Daniel Gafford since Lively went out with his injury two weeks ago. And the Mavericks’ defense in the paint has not suffered one bit. “Gaff is doing a hell of a job protecting the rim,” Kidd said. “Kessler (Edwards) came up with a big block in the New Orleans game late. And our smalls and mediums are trying to keep the ball out of the paint. (But) Gaff’s the anchor of that and he’s doing a really good job of that.”
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