Pistons Offer Respect For Knicks Star's Defense

Detroit Pistons supporters may be letting it all verbally out as they engage the New York Knicks in an Eastern Conference quarterfinal set. OG Anunoby's contract, however, appears to be off limits after three games.

Anunoby's metropolitan re-entry on a five-year, $212.5 million contract has often been used as prime fodder for those who doubt the Knicks' championship mettle. Pistons fans have clung to any New York fault as they seek to make their first postseason visitors in six years as uncomfortable as possible. Anunoby's new contract, however, is off the table after his first three showings of the series.

“He’s just physical,” Bickerstaff said of Anunoby in a report from Ansar Khan of MLive.com. “He’s got great feet, he’s strong, he’s got a dogged mentality. But we’ve seen Cade [Cunningham] be able to get to where he wants to get to and do what he needs to do. Give (Anunoby) respect because he’s earned it, but I still like Cade’s chances.”

Anunoby's two-way efforts have defined the Knicks' more recent efforts: an offensive breakout allowed them to keep their heads above water when Jalen Brunson went down with an ankle injury and now he's tasked with covering Pistons franchise face Cunningham in this vital first-round set.

Cunningham has had several breakout that have helped keep the Pistons in the series, as he averaging 26 points and over eight assists and rebounds each over the first three games. He is, however, shooting less than 31 percent from three-point range, nearly five full percentage points from his regular season rate.

The Pistons have gone as far as Cunningham has taken them away from Anunoby: he was 11-of-21 from the field in the lone win to date in Game 2 but he's less than 40 percent in the two defeats. Cunningham has also lost a third of Detroit's 51 turnovers, six alone coming in the narrow Game 3 victory at Little Caesars Arena.

"OG reads plays extremely well," head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Anunoby, per Jared Schwartz of the New York Post. "He has great anticipation, and he can invite passes and then get to him. When you get those turnovers, particularly those live ball turnovers, that gets you easy offense. You need those easy baskets. We scored 118. That’s a big number. That’s when we’re at our best.”