The Knicks may be resting up, but the Pistons need a good outing
This is a game-day preview, but it honestly could be a playoff preview. There’s still a chance the Detroit Pistons could match up with a division foe in the Indiana Pacers. Still, Basketball Reference’s playoff probability model believes a battle with the New York Knicks is almost inevitable (unless the Knicks don’t want the Pistons’ smoke).
A late-season game with a likely playoff opponent screams don’t show your hand. The Knicks are going that route with their injury report, but the Pistons can’t afford to move like that. Tobias Harris is probable to return, and his absence has been felt. Getting him back in the lineup and getting back on track can swing some much-needed momentum back on Detroit’s side.
Game Vitals
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons -3.5
Analysis
The Pistons’ 2-1 record against the Knicks may be extended with OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Mitchell Robinson sidelined for New York tonight. The Pistons have had their number anyway, but the Knicks surging defense could struggle without two of their stout perimeter stoppers.
The Knicks have the sixth-best defense since March. That uptick largely coincided with star guard Jalen Brunson missing time with his ankle injury. He’s back and rolling. Brunson has scored at least 30 points in all three matchups versus Detroit. His ability to get wherever he wants and to draw fouls will be key aspects the Pistons need to limit.
Ausar Thompson is having one of his best stretches of the season, averaging 15/7/3 with 3.6 stocks over the last seven games. The 31 minutes a game is very encouraging, but he’s still foul-prone. How he balances foul trouble is beyond important, especially matching up with Brunson.
Tobias Harris should be back in the lineup, stabilizing this Pistons squad. The little things he does, like boxing out, guarding three through five, and ending possessions on the glass, aren’t luxuries. The Pistons need that and will gladly welcome him back into the lineup against a Knicks team with a dynamic big.
Karl-Anthony Towns will probably make his third All-NBA team this season. He’ll surely bring Isaiah Stewart (questionable tonight – knee) and Jalen Duren outside the paint as he shoots nearly five threes a game on a 42 percent clip. Spicing in some Harris possessions on him may be needed tonight and down the road. That’s not a definitive way to slow Towns down, but mixing up coverages against a star is mandatory. Harris doesn’t mind when bodies collide while he’s banging in the paint. He can hold his own.
Cade Cunningham needs to be special for the Pistons to make any real noise in the offs. He’s probable to go tonight on “SLAM Night ” which will honor him. We’ve seen plenty of young guards step in with big-time moments in their first go at the playoffs.
We don’t even need to go all the way back to Magic’s sensational game six in the 1980 Finals or, more recently, Derrick Rose’s 36-point playoff debut. Young guards in Cade’s era, like Luka Dončić and Anthony Edwards, immediately stepped into the postseason and got to it. They didn’t win those series, but it was evident that these guys had arrived. Cade could do the same soon.
Brunson and KAT have been All-NBA level, but so has Cade. You have a puncher’s chance when you have the best player in the series, and Cade needs to be just that. The Knicks defenders who are out tonight, along with Mikal Bridges and Miles McBride, won’t make it easy on Cade, but lighting them up on this stage would show just how elite the Pistons big guard is.
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons
(43-36)
Cade Cunningham, Tim Hardaway, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
New York Knicks
(50-29)
Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, Mikal Bridges, Precious Achiuwa, Karl-Anthony Towns
Question of the day:
How are you gauging playoff success this season?