One Loss, One Lesson: Cade Cunningham's Honest Reckoning After Detroit Beats Cleveland in Game 1
Cade Cunningham posted 23 points, seven assists, and two steals in Detroit's dominant 111-101 Game 1 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers — but it was his postgame honesty that resonated most, openly admitting that the Pistons' failure to protect home court in their near-elimination against Orlando ("We didn't do that last series") has become the defining motivation of their second-round approach. Duncan Robinson added 19 points and five threes, Tobias Harris delivered 20 and 10, and Cleveland committed 19 turnovers to Detroit's 11 while James Harden shot just 14.3% from three against the Pistons' switching defense. We break down the full Game 1 performance, Cunningham's postgame reckoning, and what Cleveland needs to fix before Game 2 on Thursday.