Detroit Pistons: Cunningham Sees Eagerness From Rookie Ebuka Okorie

On Monday night, the Detroit Pistons finished off their back-to-back responsibilities with a 122-111 victory over the Washington Wizards in the first of two battles against the Eastern Conference squad this week. 

During the second half of the matchup, the Pistons had already built a healthy lead thanks to John Collins’ quick start, but Detroit ran into an obstacle when Cade Cunningham picked up his fifth personal foul halfway through the third quarter. At that stage, the Pistons shifted to a more Daniss Jenkins-led attack to preserve their lead, but the team still had to burn some more clock before Cunningham could re-enter the contest. 

At the start of the fourth, the Pistons turned to rookie point guard Ebuka Okorie to help steer the ship, and it was one of his longer cameos this season as a first-year player. Okorie, who led the ACC in scoring as a true freshman, flashed his ability to create with five points over six minutes, but it was his calm demeanor and steady hand that was most notable in Monday night’s victory. 

“He’s just a hooper,” Cunningham said of Okorie after the game. “You can tell he loves the game, works hard at it and you can tell he’s just kind of itching over there for his moment. Whenever his number is called, he’s ready. He’s excited about it, and he goes out there and plays like it. So, I think it’s just his love for the game.”

Over the course of the last seven months, the Pistons have grown more comfortable with the idea of playing multiple point guard or ball handlers simultaneously to open up options when Cunningham is blitzed with double-teams. Though that’s primarily materialized as Cunningham-Jenkins tandem time in the backcourt, Okorie has the very skill set that would free-up Detroit’s floor general for cleaner looks within the structure of the offense. 

Since Okorie can beat his defender off the bounce or facilitate for his teammates, Cunningham would have a lighter load to carry on each possession, although the Pistons have not needed to turn in the rookie’s direction much through 10 games. So far, Okorie has featured in just five contests for a grand total of 21 minutes, but head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has a tendency to bring his rookies along slowly, not as a condemnation of their skill level but so as to prepare the youngster for a successful introduction to the league. 

In Okorie’s case, the Stanford product has a willingness to learn and grow, so he’s eager for whatever time on the court he can manage while the Pistons are winning. Since Detroit has a 7-3 record so far, Bickerstaff’s squad has fared well through the early portion of the season, which has coincided with a series of strong performances from Jenkins. So, Okorie’s lack of every-game impact thus far can largely be attributed to the winning culture that’s been established in the Motor City— the Pistons lineup can be difficult to crack

Since the Pistons are flourishing with Jenkins having a more prominent role in the rotation, Okorie could find an opening sooner rather than later. The more time that Jenkins and Cunningham are on the floor together, the more likely it is that Okorie is called upon to give that backcourt duo a breather, which would double as some much-needed experience for the rookie during the regular season. 

Moving forward, the Pistons have another day off tomorrow before taking on the Wizards in a rematch of Monday night’s tilt, though this contest will take place in the nation’s capital with a 7 pm tip-off on the schedule.