The Knicks' plan was simple: if they were going to lose, it would not be at the hands of Cade Cunningham.
From the first whistle of Game 1, OG Anunoby was blanketing Cunningham's every move. Whether it was forcing him into inopportune directions or pursuing like a crazed animal when Cunningham got a step downhill, it was clear that the Knicks were not going to let Cunningham get going as a scorer or be the one to beat them.
Cunningham finished the game with just 21 points. And the 64 combined points from Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, and Tim Hardaway Jr. proved to be not enough for Detroit. It also proved that without Cunningham scoring efficiently, the Pistons don't have much of a chance.
Leaving the role players open
The tradeoff of heavily trapping Cunningham, as the Knicks often did, was that other players were bound to get some good looks. Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined to take 13 wide-open field goals in Game 1. For comparison, that trio of players averaged a total of 7.2 wide-open field goal attempts per game in the regular season. Meanwhile, Cunningham took one wide-open field goal all game.
To the Pistons' credit, their role players took advantage of the open looks they were being given. Harries finished the game with a team-high 25 points, while shooting 61.5 percent from the field and 80 percent from three. Beasley drained six threes and finished with 20 points, while Hardaway Jr. added 19 more.
Even with the hot shooting, the Knicks revealed that the Pistons' supporting cast simply doesn't have enough firepower to beat them without Cade being able to put the ball in the basket at the rate he did in the regular season.
It wasn't just Anunoby
As can be seen in the clip below, Anunoby fights over two ball screens before doubling Cunningham and stripping him of the ball. It was this sort of rebid point-of-attack defense that was on display all night from the Knicks' potential All-Defense star.
— bk (@vidaudio45) April 21, 2025
Cunningham struggled to get going offensively all night, going 8 of 21 from the field and only one of four from deep. While Anunoby deserves a lion's share of the credit for holding the Pistons' All-Star to his lowest points total in a game against the Knicks this season, he wasn't alone.
When the Pistons tried to get Karl-Anthony Towns involved in actions, using whoever he was guarding as a screener on Anunoby, Towns was up at the level, hands raised, forcing Cunningham to have to make a decision.
— bk (@vidaudio45) April 21, 2025
If the Knicks come out in Game 2 with the same strategy, it will take a Herculean effort from those wearing jerseys that don't have Cunningham stitched on the back to have a chance.