A Texas native himself, Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham returns to the Lone Star State tonight as Detroit squares off against the 10-17 Dallas Mavericks for an 8:30 pm tip-off. The Pistons, who have won their last four consecutive games on the bounce, embark on a West coast swing, and the Mavs are the first team on the docket. 

At 21-5, the Pistons remain in first place of the Eastern Conference, as they have been for much of the 2025-26 regular season. With Cunningham expertly running the show, the Pistons are an elite defensive team, and that pressure helps cause turnovers that quickly turn into transition buckets on the fast break– all together, that’s a recipe which is difficult to undercut. 

Cunningham has found a way to balance his own career-best production while allowing Pistons center Jalen Duren to have a breakout year of his own. With JD anchoring the paint, the Pistons have one of the top two-man pick and roll actions in the NBA with Cade pulling the strings. Cunningham has developed an unspoken chemistry with Duren on the court, and they’re accounting for nearly 50% of the Pistons’ offensive production on a nightly basis.

This season, the Mavericks have struggled mightily with taking care of the basketball. Turnovers have been, and continue to be, an issue for Dallas this season, and that absolutely tips the scales in Detroit’s direction as a team that capitalizes on sloppy ball handling better than any other unit in the NBA. 

Injuries

At the moment, the Pistons continue to have a relatively clean injury report. Once veteran forward Tobias Harris returned to the lineup last week, the Pistons were able to operate with a full bench for the first time all season. Detroit is undefeated since Harris has returned to the lineup with an active four-game winning streak on the line tonight against the Mavs.

As for Dallas, the Mavericks have a bevy of injuries that they’re currently nursing. Point guard Kyrie Irving is expected to remain out until February at the earliest, and both Dante Exum and Derrick Lively II have already been ruled out for the rest of the season. Anthony Davis continues to suffer from a minor calf injury, and he’s listed as questionable for the Pistons game along with D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Williams. 

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Mavs News

With a 10-17 record on the season, the Mavs are well below .500 and are looking up at the majority of the Western Conference from their 12th place position. Dallas is 3-2 over the last five games, and that includes a big win over a talented, ambitious Houston Rockets squad. So, the Mavs have played better basketball as of late, but the team is still too inconsistent to have turned a corner this early in the year. 

During their last game, the Mavs engaged in a shootout with the Utah Jazz on the road, with the home squad eventually outdueling Dallas for a 140-133 victory. The Mavericks allowed two Jazz players to score at least 30 points in the game, so defense has been a bit concerning in Dallas lately. 

From an offensive perspective, rookie Cooper Flagg exploded for 42 points to help the Mavericks stick in the high-scoring contest, but he did not receive the requisite support for Dallas to pull out the overtime game. Flagg’s 42-point performance was a career-high for the impressive rookie out of Duke.

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Mavs Player To Watch: Cooper Flagg

With major question marks around the rest of the Dallas lineup, Cooper Flagg is the future of the organization, and it will be important for the Pistons to key in on the sharp shooter. So far, Flagg is averaging just over 18 points per game in his first season as a pro, and he’s continuing to improve as the season goes on. Flagg can create shots for himself or teammates, so he’s served as the primary playmaker for the Mavs often this season, and Dallas even used him as a pseudo-point guard to start the year. That brief experiment is over, though, and Flagg has returned to his natural role as an off-ball player with the ability to create when needed. 

Prediction: Detroit Pistons 121, Dallas Mavericks 107

The Mavericks have been playing better basketball lately, but the Pistons are still in another category when it comes to two-way team basketball. Detroit fields a top five defense and a top 10 offense in the NBA, and the Pistons are a deep team with a fully healthy lineup right now. With Cunningham spreading the ball around through three quarters before taking over late in games, the Pistons have proven to be difficult to stop this season and lead the NBA in single-digit victories. However, the Pistons might put this one to bed early if they can force turnovers that turn into transition buckets early on.

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