Pistons game tonight: Cade Cunningham leads Detroit vs. Suns as Booker sits

The Detroit Pistons return to Little Caesars Arena tonight with a chance to pad an impressive start to the season, hosting a Phoenix team missing its leading scorer. With Cade Cunningham back in rhythm and Detroit’s frontcourt getting healthier, the matchup offers a clean test of the Pistons’ half-court execution against a shorthanded opponent.

Pistons vs Suns start time, records, and setting

• Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. ET (12:00 a.m. GMT / 2:00 a.m. Cairo on Jan. 16)

• Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit

• Records: Pistons 28–10 (East leaders), Suns 24–16

Detroit opens a three-game homestand that continues this weekend, while Phoenix arrives on the second leg of a road swing. The Pistons have been excellent at home and have banked wins by controlling the glass and avoiding turnover spikes in the fourth quarter.

Cade Cunningham, Pistons health and expected rotation

The headline for the Pistons game is continuity. Cunningham is set to steer the offense with an increasingly comfortable blend of on-ball creation and off-ball relocations around second-side actions. The long layoff earlier this month allowed Detroit to reset: Jalen Duren returned to anchor the paint, Isaiah Stewart supplies switchable defense, and the wing group has settled into clear roles.

Projected Detroit starters

• Cade Cunningham — primary ballhandler, late-clock shot creator

• Duncan Robinson — floor spacing and DHOs with bigs

• Ausar Thompson — point-of-attack defense, transition pressure

• Tobias Harris — mismatch hunting at the elbows, secondary playmaking

• Jalen Duren — rim running, offensive boards, vertical spacing

Bench pivots to watch: a second unit built around staggered Cunningham minutes has juiced Detroit’s on-off splits; if the second group wins its stint to start the second quarter, Detroit typically controls tempo the rest of the way.

Suns injuries shift the matchup math

Phoenix will be without Devin Booker (ankle), removing a top-tier shotmaker and late-game closer. That forces the visitors to lean on drive-and-kick volume, transition threes, and a committee approach to end-of-clock possessions. Without Booker’s gravity, Detroit can shade extra help at the nail and live with contested pull-ups from secondary scorers.

Phoenix pressure points for Detroit to exploit

• Point of attack: push ballhandlers toward weak hand and funnel into Duren’s length.

• Defensive glass: win the second-chance battle; Phoenix often shrinks when it’s one-and-done.

• Fouls in the lane: hunt contact on closeouts; free throws can separate in the third quarter.

Cade Cunningham vs. a rotating cast: how Detroit can close

With Cade Cunningham dictating pace, look for Detroit to spam empty-corner pick-and-rolls and Spain actions that force Phoenix to communicate through back screens. Cunningham has punished soft switches by backing smaller defenders into the nail for short fadeaways, and he’s improved at firing corner skip passes when the low man digs too hard.

Key indicators

• Assist-to-turnover for Cade: 2.5:1 or better usually equals a Pistons win.

• Duren’s screen assists: if he springs shooters free early, Phoenix will be scrambling all night.

• Corner threes: Detroit’s best games include 9–12 attempts from the corners with near-league-average accuracy.

Micro-matchups that could swing the Pistons game

1. Thompson on Phoenix’s top creator
   Thompson’s length can erase first options and trigger runouts. If he piles up deflections, Detroit’s transition edge grows.

2. Harris vs. wings in the mid-post
   When the Suns downsize, Harris’ patience on the block forces help and creates stand-still threes. Quick decisions beat digs.

3. Stewart’s switching vs. late-clock isolations
   If Stewart contains drives after switches, Phoenix will settle for contested jumpers—exactly what Detroit wants.

What a winning script looks like for Detroit

• Win the math: +8 to +12 on free throws and +6 on rebounds.

• Protect the ball: turnovers ≤ 12; limit live-ball giveaways that fuel Phoenix’s transition.

• Close the third: Detroit has turned tight games into two-possession leads by owning the final three minutes of the third quarter—stagger Cade, lean on Duren screens, and target mismatches.

What’s next on the Pistons schedule

The homestand continues with Indiana on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET) and Boston on Sunday night (8:00 p.m. ET), a back-to-back that will stress rotations and conditioning. Banked minutes tonight matter—if Detroit can keep starters in the low-30s, it sets up fresher legs for the weekend.

With Booker out, the Pistons enter as clear favorites. If Cade Cunningham controls tempo, Detroit dominates the glass, and the bench holds serve, the Pistons game should tilt comfortably toward the home side.