NBA Legend Makes Honest Assessment of Cade Cunningham vs Knicks

How is Cade Cunningham doing against the Knicks in the eyes of a Detroit Pistons legend?

Apr 10, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) controls the ball next to New York Knicks guard Miles McBride (2) during the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images | David Reginek-Imagn Images

For the first time in over a decade, the Detroit Pistons have brought a playoff win home. On Thursday, the Pistons will welcome the New York Knicks to Detroit for their Game 3 matchup with the series tied 1-1. Pistons star Cade Cunningham has a lot on his plate heading into the game, but he has surely stepped up throughout his first playoff series.

Following Monday’s Game 2 action, the NBA legend Isiah Thomas left an honest assessment on Cunningham’s first two showings so far. It’s safe to say the Pistons legend is impressed.

“We saw a player who understood the game that he was playing and understood the opponent he was playing against and where that opponent’s weakness was that allowed him to exploit it,” Thomas said.

“When we say, ‘Cade defers to others,’ that doesn’t mean he’s deferring. That means that he sees something over there that is a weakness in a team’s defense that he may not be able to exploit himself, but his teammate can exploit it.”

Detroit won their first playoff game since Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals last night against the Knicks!

🔊 #Pistons Legend Isiah Thomas reacts to Cade Cunningham's big night with @WorldWideWob & @adaniels33 #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/noPjL69gmE

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) April 22, 2025

The Game 1 matchup featured a mix of scoring and facilitating for Cunningham. He scored 21 points, but struggled with efficiency. The Knicks’ defensive game plan to load up on guarding the star scorer proved to be successful, as New York held the All-Star to just 38 percent shooting from the field.

Still, Cunningham managed to find other ways to have an offensive impact as he dished out 12 assists.

Game 2 was a different story. Cunningham had just three assists, but he wasn’t as bothered with his shooting. Putting up the same amount of shots as the first outing (21), Cunningham knocked down 52 percent of his field goals. He went 10-12 from the charity stripe and finished the game with 33 points.

So far, Cunningham is living up to the expectations since tipping off his first postseason series. He’ll get two games on his home court to try and get a leg-up on New York, who couldn’t defend MSG on Monday night.