New York Knicks’ 3 keys to taking down the Detroit Pistons

Knicks. Pistons.

What more needs to be said?

New York faces a massive battle straight out of the All-Star break, and we’re here to break down their top three keys to taking down the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference.

1. Make Cade Cunningham shoot 3s (practically beg him to)

Cade Cunningham has blossomed into a superstar. He is an all-around beast who can slice and dice your team in numerous ways on the offensive end, and he’s no slouch on the other side of the court.

There is one weakness that has eluded him, though: three-point shooting.

Cunningham is a career 33.7% shooter from downtown. He crept up to a career-high 35.6% last season, but has stooped back down to 33% this year.

This needs to heavily influence your defensive strategy if you’re the Knicks.

The way Cunningham is shooting the ball this year, any Detroit possession that ends in him taking a three is a win for the defense.

Think about it: Detroit is averaging 117.2 points per 100 possessions this season. But a 33% three-point shot from Cunningham yields just 99 points per 100 possessions. That’s a huge drop-off in efficiency compared to whatever else the Pistons could get out of a possession.

Even if the Knicks have to leave Cunningham wide open to entice him to jack up threes, it would still be a winning strategy. The proof is in the pudding.

According to NBA.com, Cunningham is shooting 27% on “wide open” three-point attempts, i.e., shots with at least six feet of separation from the closest defender.

New York has to play into this. On screen-and-rolls, go way under, anticipating the drive. And when guarding him on the break, sprint to the basket, practically begging him to pull up for three.

The more threes Cunningham takes, the more beatable Detroit becomes.

When Cunningham shoots fewer than six threes in a game, the Pistons are 21-2 (.913). When he takes at least six threes, they’re 14-10 (.583).

Cunningham’s overall efficiency takes a slight dip in games where he elects to shoot at least six threes:

• Cade with <6 3PA: .576 TS%, 9.8 AST, 3.6 TO (2.74 ratio), +9.2 plus-minus per 36 minutes
• Cade with 6+ 3PA: .563 TS%, 9.5 AST, 3.8 TO (2.49 ratio), +7.5 plus-minus per 36 minutes

2. Maximize the Pistons’ foul woes

Detroit is the worst team in the NBA when it comes to both fouls per game (22.4) and opponent free throw attempts per game (27.9). It’s a consequence they’re willing to live with as a byproduct of their trademark physicality, but it is a crack in the armor waiting to be exploited.

We recently discussed how generating more free throw attempts on offense should be one of the Knicks’ top goals after the All-Star break. Well, they could not ask for a better opponent to begin that journey.

In the Knicks’ first two losses to Detroit, they did a very poor job of exploiting the Pistons’ fouling woes. New York shot just 14 and 17 free throws in the two losses, representing two of the Pistons’ eight best games in terms of limiting free throw attempts.

It must be an emphasis tonight to get to the free throw line. After shooting a combined 31 free throws over their first two games against Detroit, the Knicks should strive to hit that number in this game alone.

The Pistons have yielded over 30 free throw attempts in 19 of their 53 games. They’re still an impressive 14-5 in those games, although their average point differential was +6.1, a noticeable dip from their +9.0 mark in all other games, revealing that Detroit is certainly more beatable when opponents take advantage of their foul proneness.

3. Take advantage of Duren and Stewart’s absences

The main ingredient of Detroit’s success is their interior defense. The Pistons are tied for second-best in the NBA with an opponent two-point percentage of 51.1%.

Tonight, they’ll be without two of their best stoppers on the inside. Centers Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart will miss tonight’s game due to suspensions stemming from a brawl in Charlotte.

Come playoff time, the Knicks will probably have to find ways to beat the Pistons with these guys on the court. Tonight, though, the Knicks must take full advantage of their absences.

This works hand-in-hand with the emphasis on generating free throw attempts.

Although Duren (3.7 fouls per 36 minutes) and Stewart (4.6) are foul machines in their own right, their absences give way to an even more foul-prone duo. While Duren and Stewart average a combined 8.3 fouls per 36 minutes, their replacements, starter Paul Reed (4.6) and backup Tolu Smith (4.5), combine for 9.1 fouls per 36 minutes.

The Knicks, who rank 23rd in free throws made and attempted per game, need to start racking up more free throws to stabilize their offensive consistency from game to game and possession to possession. Tonight is the night to prove they are capable of making that progress.