Bullied By the Bad Boy Pistons

There seem to be two distinct, disparate reactions among the Knicks fanbase to last night's loss in Detroit...

Final Score: Knicks 106 - Pistons 115
Record: 50-30

There seem to be two distinct, disparate reactions among the fanbase to last night's loss in Detroit.

On one end of the spectrum, you have Knicks fans panicking and fearful of a potential first-round matchup against a rough-and-tumble Pistons team that punked the 'Bockers in their building.

In the opposite camp, there are fans who are completely dismissing last night's loss, finding it farcical that anyone would put any stock in a game in which New York sat OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Mitchell Robinson. (Some even suggest the Knicks stealthy tanked the contest to increase the odds they draw a favorable matchup in round one.)

I fall somewhere in between those two extremes. Obviously, we have to take last night's result with a grain of salt, considering New York was missing two starters (including their best defender) and their best backup big. The corpse of PJ Tucker (who has more pairs of Jordans than points scored in the NBA over the past two years) logged 27 minutes vs. Detroit. At one point in the third quarter, Cam Payne, Delon Wright, Landry Shamet, Tucker and Precious Achiuwa were all on the floor simultaneously. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say we probably won't see that five-man lineup too frequently in the postseason.

Arguably the Pistons' biggest advantage Thursday night was their toughness and physicality on both ends of the floor, especially when they took over in the fourth quarter. "They just out-toughed us. They did. The whole fourth quarter," Tucker told reporters after the game. "We kept it close, but they just out-toughed us. That's something we got to address.

However, it's easy to bully and browbeat Shamet and Payne. It's a much different story when Hart and OG are in the mix and fighting through screens.

That being said, this Detroit team is legit. They are hungry, talented, tough and deep. The Pistons have developed an identity as a defensive-minded club (they have been ranked in the top 10 in DefRtg all season) but can also put up points.

Detroit ranks 14th in the NBA in Offensive Efficiency and is in the top 5 in both fast break points and points in the paint. Superstars often decide playoff series, and the P's have a budding young stud in Cade Cunningham, who is enjoying a breakout season and is on his way to making his first All-NBA team. He's too big for small guards and too quick/crafty for bigger, stronger wings.

Over his last three games against the Knicks, Cunningham is averaging 33.7 points, 9.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 made three-pointers, while shooting over 57% from the floor. He's the only player in the league to face New York more than two times this season and average 30+ points and 8+ dimes against the Knicks. Remarkably, the only player to play NY at least three times in a single season this century (the Thibs era) and average 30 & 8 or better was Kevin Durant for Brooklyn in 2021-22.

And while the Knicks will undoubtedly sic OG on Cade in the postseason, Cunningham has held his own in that matchup. It's a small sample size, but per NBA tracking data, he is 5-of-9 when defended by Anunoby this season. (OG isn't the only dominant defender Cunningham has had success against. Cade is 22-of-40 for 56 points and 19 assists over 171 possessions when guarded by Dyson Daniels this season. That speaks volumes.)

The Pistons have plenty of other ways to hurt you as well. They have eight players averaging double figures, and that doesn't include their enforcer (Isaiah Stewart) or Simone Fontecchio (who can get hot) nor rising rookie Ron Holland (who scored 13 points in 21 minutes last night).

Furthermore, they'll be playing with house money in the playoffs. After engineering one of the most miraculous turnarounds in recent history (Detroit was the worst team in the NBA in 2023-24, posting a 14-68 record), they have nothing to lose (and everything to gain) in the postseason.

Before we dig in too deep, let's not spend too much time analyzing a potential matchup, as it's far from a sure thing that these two teams will face off nine days from now.

Other Takeaways and Knicks Notes:

🏀 Jalen Brunson struggled offensively last night, finishing with just 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting and five assists in 29 minutes. More concerningly, Brunson appeared to roll his left ankle early in the second half. The good news is the right ankle is the one that sidelined him for a month, and JB was able to return to the contest in the fourth of Thursday's loss. We'll see if he sits out tonight vs. Cleveland.

🏀 Miles McBride, who drew a start alongside Brunson, was also inefficient. Not only did Deuce shoot just 2-of-10 from downtown, but he again had trouble finishing in the lane. His inability to convert at the rim has been a significant issue all season. On the year, McBride has made just 41% of his lay-up attempts. That number needs to be higher.

🏀 Karl-Anthony Towns posted yet another strong double-double: 25 points (10-of-19 FGs, 5-of-5 FTs), 10 rebounds, five assists and one steal in 29 minutes. Interestingly, he took just one three-pointer and finished the contest without a made 3PT for the second time this week.

Over the first 65 games of the season, KAT averaged 2.1 three-point makes on 5.0 attempts. Over the Knicks' past eight games, he is averaging 0.9 makes on 2.6 attempts. He's done a solid job of attacking the tin when the opportunity presents itself, but what truly separates Towns from other centers is his ability to stretch the floor and knock down triples.

It has been confounding that the Knicks have not run nearly as many 1-5 pick-and-rolls with Brunson and Towns over the second half of the season. As the folks at the HotHand Theory pointed out this morning, KAT's screen assists and screen-assists points have been cut in half compared to his pre-All-Star break numbers (from 6.7 down to 3.2). Good thread here.

As we mentioned frequently throughout the season, taking and making shots from behind the arc is crucial in today's NBA.

The Knicks have a 36-7 record (.837 winning percentage) in games in which they made 12 or more three-pointers this season.

The Knicks have a 14-23 record (.378 winning percentage) in games in which fewer than 12 three-pointers this season.

🏀 Precious Achiuwa posted impressive counting stats (18 points on 13 FG attempts and 13 boards), but that was partly due to Detroit giving him the "Josh Hart treatment" (have the opposing center sag off him, forcing the ball into his hands instead of Brunson/KAT etc). The Knicks would be better suited to play a true 5-out offense around Towns, taking advantage of their strength (an elite stretch 5) and making opponents adjust.

🏀 I don't even know how to address P.J. Tucker logging 27 minutes in the Year of our Lord 2025. Even though he had the worst plus/minus among NY's reserves last night (-6), he wasn't terrible. He grabbed six rebounds and hit a corner 3PT. But I don't see the benefit of giving that much court time to the second-oldest player in the NBA in the 80th game of the season.

Tyler Kolek was a DNP-CD for the fourth straight game. Pacome Dadiet hasn't seen a second of non-garbage time action since late November. Kevin McCullar Jr. has looked decent in brief instances but remained anchored to the bench. Ditto for MarJon Beauchamp.

If last night was meaningless (as suggested by the fact that Tucker was on the floor in the fourth quarter of a close game), why not see how the rookies respond? Most teams use the season's final few weeks to give their kids some seasoning. The Knicks have done this in the past. In previous seasons, we have seen IQ, Grimes and Deuce establish themselves in March and April.

Here is the total number of games in which each player has logged more than 20 minutes for the Knicks this season:
PJ Tucker: 1
Pacome Dadiet: Zero
Tyler Kolek: Zero
Kevin McCullar: Zero

Tucker logged more minutes last night than Dadiet has played in all 62 games NY has played since Thanksgiving.

🏀 Standings Watch:

• The Pacers had to rally late, but they knocked off the Cavs (who rested four of their five starters) 114-112 on Thursday night. With the victory, they clinched home-court advantage (they can finish no lower than fourth).

• Indiana also pulled within one game of New York with the win. However, because New York owns the tie-breaker, the Knicks' magic number is still just one.

• The Knicks host the Cavs on Friday and play at Brooklyn on Sunday.

• The Pacers host Orlando on Friday and play at Cleveland on Sunday.

• The Magic have announced they are resting their entire starting 5 (Banchero, Wagner, KCP, Wendell Carter Jr., and Cory Joseph) for tonight's game vs. Inday.

• The Pistons' win over NY means they now trail Milwaukee by two games. The Bucks won the first two contests between the two clubs, but Detroit and Milwaukee play each other in the season's final two games. If the Pistons win both, they win the tie-breaker (conference record).

So, here are the playoff scenarios over the final three days of the season.

• If the Knicks win either of their final two games, they clinch the 3-seed.

• If the Knicks lose each of their final two games but the Pacers only win one of their final two games, the Knicks clinch the 3-seed.

• If the Knicks lose each of their final two games and the Pacers win each of their final two games, the Knicks slip to 4, and the Pacers clinch the 3-seed.

• As for the 5 and 6-seeds, if MIL wins one of the two games vs. DET, they clinch the 5-seed

• If the Pistons win both of the final two games, they will secure the 5-seed.

🏀 Next Up:
Knicks at Cavs Friday night (7:30 pm)

As noted above, Coach Kenny Atkinson (after clinching the No. 1 seed in the East earlier this week) rested Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Max Strus for Thursday's game in Indiana. And although Jarrett Allen started, he only played 15 minutes, sitting out the entire second half.

It is unknown how the Cavs will approach Friday's contest.

Update: The Knicks are listing Brunson, OG, Hart and KAT as questionable for tonight's game. Mitchell Robinson has been taken off the injury report, so he will suit up tonight.