How is Dante Cunningham fairing in new bench role?
By Tom Rizk
An NBA bench is a strange place. A place of demotion and relegation? Yes. But also a place of opportunity and unlikely heroes.
Arguments of who should start and who should come off the bench often dwarf over seemingly more important issues. For instance, which five players should be on the court to actually close out games?
Why?
Perhaps it’s a case of pride, ego or identity. Or a mixture of all three! But one thing is clear, although they may all be sitting side-by-side along that bench, some perch upon regal thrones of confidence held up by the powerful, albeit temperamental, love of fans. Others, unfortunately, squat on their trembling Fischer-Price stools, trying desperately to rip off the “Disappointment” sticker they’ve been branded with.
So where does Dante Cunningham fit into all this?
Well, to kick off the Pelicans 2017-18 season Cunningham was given the starting nod. This provoked a reaction akin to being offered a boring plain cheese sandwich. It’s fine, but nobody’s going to do a song and dance about it. Well, except for maybe myself.
But I digress.
As time passed and Cunningham’s shooting percentages steadily declined, there were calls for a demotion of sorts, to the Pelicans bench. With seemingly no superior options available (this is pre-Darius ‘Reggie’ Miller fever) Cunningham’s starting spot remained.
But with Rajon Rondo back and Jrue Holiday shifting up to the starting shooting guard spot, it was clear that either E’Twaun Moore or Cunningham would have to come off the pine. To begin with, Gentry opted to continue with Cunningham starting at small forward. However, after some less than stellar results, he swapped out Cunningham for a three-guard lineup featuring Rondo, Holiday and Moore.
Since this decision, a lot of focus has been placed upon the performance of this three-guard set alongside DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis. But how’s Cunningham performing coming off the bench?
Well, a little better actually.
Don’t get me wrong he’s had none of the three-point shooting heroics of Darius Miller. Nor any of the spectacular reverse layups of Omer Asik (Okay he’s made a couple). But he has looked much better operating as more of a small-ball power forward, capable of stretching the floor and switching on defense.
In Cunningham’s six games coming off the bench this season he is shooting 50% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. By no means earth-shattering percentages, but certainly a move in the right direction.
Cunningham’s scoring (9.6 points per 36 minutes) and rebounding (7.3 rebounds per 36 minutes) have also seen an improvement. Not particularly surprising considering these are minutes where he’s mostly playing with just one of either Davis or Cousins. Therefore giving Cunningham much more opportunity to score and snag rebounds.
Nonetheless, so far Cunningham has looked a much better fit on the team when coming off the bench (+16.8 per 100 possessions). This has been especially visible on the defensive end with the Pels posting a defensive rating of 89.3 with Cunningham on the court in his new bench role.
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Although there have only been six games this season in which Cunningham has come off the bench, so far, he has done a stellar job in his new role. This role, although smaller, appears to be much better suited for Cunningham and his particular set of skills.