Cade Cunningham is getting to the line

Can he be the best offensive player in a series with Jalen Brunson?

On Monday in Madison Square Garden, the Knicks struggled to defend Pistons star Cade Cunningham. Cade scored 33 points on 21 shots, and the Pistons won by six. Game 3 is in Detroit tonight. AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES

Cade Cunningham is 23. Over his 210 NBA games, he averages four free throw attempts per game. But even as NBA referees have adopted a “let ‘em play” philosophy, Cade’s free throw attempts are going up in a way that’s indicative of a star being born. His rookie year he averaged 2.6 per game, this season more than double that.

In Monday’s Game 2 win at Madison Square Garden, Cade attempted 12 free throws, and made ten. It was only the seventh time in his career he had attempted so many. All but one of those are since Christmas.

What I see now is a man with a plan.