In ESPN’s latest MVP straw poll of NBA media — a poll that has proved a good predictor of what MVP voters are thinking — Cade Cunningham sits third.
He looked every bit of that and more on Thursday night, when Cunningham put up 42 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds in Madison Square Garden as a shorthanded Detroit team again dominated New York. After the game, ESPN’s Vinny Goodwill asked Cunningham if he thought he was the MVP.
“I think I am [MVP],” Cunningham told ESPN. “And if you don’t agree with me, that’s your opinion.”
Cunningham is the offensive engine for the No. 1 seed in the East, averaging 25.3 points, 9.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds a game, while also being a plus defender on the second-best defense in the league. If there is a knock on Cunningham’s MVP case, it’s that he’s not as efficient a scorer as other candidates, shooting 33% from 3-point range and with a true shooting percentage of 56.8, which is right about the league average.
Still, there is no denying his impact on the court or ability to rally his teammates. Detroit was without big men Jalen Duren and Isiah Stewart — both serving suspensions from the fight in Charlotte before the All-Star break — and still their defense stifled the Knicks’ offense. In particular, the Knicks were just 8-of-35 (22.9%) from 3-point range, including missing 15 shots in a row at one point.
This was the third time this season the Pistons comfortably handled the Knicks, sweeping the season series. It’s a matchup concern for New York heading into the playoffs, where New York owner James Dolan has said that making the NBA Finals is the minimum the team should expect.
It also should sting a little that Cunningham is much further up most MVP ballots than Knicks star Jalen Brown. It’s been that kind of season for Cunningham.
