Isaiah Stewart listed as questionable for Game 2

Ian Begley: Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart had to get imaging on his leg after Game 1, per SNY sources. Stewart exited game in 4th quarter – at very start of NYK’s big run. He was laboring for most of G1. Given Stewart’s importance, this injury will clearly impact the rest of NYK-DET series. -via Twitter @IanBegley / April 20, 2025

It will be the first playoff experience for everyone else in J.B. Bickerstaff’s normal rotation – Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland II, Isaiah Stewart and Simone Fontecchio. The Pistons privately talked about getting to the playoffs long before anyone thought it possible and they’ve adopted a one-day-at-a-time focus with the long-term goal of having it pay off in a playoff berth. But Bickerstaff knows enough about playoff basketball to know that no matter how long and hard his young players have thought about the experience, they won’t truly appreciate the essence until wading into the waters. “It’s a completely different basketball game,” he said. “And until you’re in it, it’s hard to understand it. We’ve been through this before. At some point in time, we were all kids and didn’t listen to our parents, either, and didn’t figure it out until we experienced it on our own. That’s what the playoffs are. We can tell guys what to expect, but until we experience it you don’t understand just how different it is from an intensity standpoint, from the execution of schemes, the importance of possession-by-possession basketball.” -via NBA.com / April 16, 2025

Isaiah Stewart: “Being a dad has changed me in so many ways. I look at my son sometimes, and it still feels surreal. I’m like, ‘Man, I’m somebody’s father.’ Growing up, I looked at my dad like Superman. He did everything for us. He worked long hours, made sure we were good, taught us life lessons—even when I didn’t want to hear them. He’d repeat himself, and I’d be like, ‘Man, you already said that.’ But now, I find myself doing the same thing with my son. I’m like, ‘You’re going to need this one day, so I’m going to keep feeding it to you.’ It’s come full circle. Being a dad makes me appreciate my own father even more. It’s also made me more patient, more aware. It’s added another layer to who I am. I don’t just play for me anymore. I play for my family. My son’s watching me. That means everything.” -via YouTube / April 12, 2025