The New York Knicks will face the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The Pistons are ending a six-year playoff drought, and the Knicks hope to make amends after losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals heartbreakingly to the Indiana Pacers last year.
Detroit Pistons Outlook
The Detroit Pistons are finally seeing their franchise come back to life. After constant years of struggle and failure, the Pistons have locked in the 6th seed. That is the highest seed they have obtained since losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007-08 season where they obtained the two seed.
Former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham leads the team in points and assists with 26.1 ppg and 9.1 apg, having his best season in both of those categories. He and his team are reaping the rewards of his fantastic play. He’s given the Pistons relevance they haven’t seen in many years.
Jaden Ivey will also be set to return from a broken left fibula against the Orlando Magic on New Year’s Day. Before the injury, Ivey was recording his best season yet with 17.6 points. He was the Pistons’ second-leading scorer. Having him back in the rotation should be nothing but beneficial for Detroit. His shooting alone is going to be a problem for New York, but his playmaking is also another thing to be prepared for.
Malik Beasley has been having a stellar year with the Pistons. He’s currently second in three-pointers made this year and has been a reliable sharpshooter for this Pistons squad. His off-ball awareness has looked incredible. Being able to free himself anywhere on the court and getting himself open. Offensively, he’s Detroit’s most versatile scorer. If he gets hot during this series, the New York Knicks could find themselves in trouble.
The Pistons were coming off a historically bad year, winning only 14 games. The year before that, they only won 17 contests. Both of those seasons were a franchise-worst. Needless to say, hopes weren’t high for the 2024-25 Pistons squad. Expected to be a lottery team yet again, the Pistons have shocked everyone by having a winning season(44-37). An accomplishment they haven’t grasped since 2015-16 when they finished 44-38.
New York Knicks Overlook
It’s no shock to see the New York Knicks in the top 3 of the Eastern Conference. What a weird thing to say, but it’s true. The team the Knicks have put together looks to be one of the most dangerous squads in the league. Led by All-Star Point Guard Jalen Brunson the Knicks finished the season with a 51-31 record. Their best since the 2012-13 season.
Brunson has been quietly putting together one of his best seasons yet. Expected to take a slight dip with offseason additions in Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, Brunson did not do that. Averaging 26 points and 7.3 assists, the star guard is looking prime and ready for a deep playoff run this year.
It was a shock when the Timberwolves decided to trade away one of their core members Karl-Anthony Towns, to the New York Knicks. The trade involved Knicks Forward Julius Randle, who was also seen as a necessary player to get the Knicks through the playoffs. KAT is putting together one of his best seasons in years with a double-double average of 24.4 points and 12.8 boards. He’s also having his best season beyond the arc, averaging 2.0 three-pointers a game on 42% shooting.
The New York Knicks went all in on their path to success by trading away former third overall pick RJ Barrett to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for defensive threat OG Anunoby in 2023. Seen as a primary defensive-minded player, Anunoby has been putting together an outstanding season with 18 points and an incredible yet never-mentioned defensive stat line with 1.5 steals and nearly a block per game.
The New York Knicks can not accept an outcome like last year. While injuries have riddled this team’s success in the past years, they have to find their way of getting over that hump. Now is the time, and they have to get the job done.
Prediction: NYK Win In 6 Games
Would it be too crazy to say the Pistons have a chance to win a playoff series? I think so. It shouldn’t go without saying that the Pistons won the season series against the New York Knicks 3-1. New York’s only victory came at the beginning of the season. The Pistons also won both of the games set in New York. Despite losing both of the games at home against the Pistons, the Knicks hold a 27-14 record while playing at MSG this year, tied with the fourth-best in the league.
The New York Knicks are simply too good a team for the inexperienced Pistons to conquer. They have talent everywhere on the court, and I firmly believe we’re yet to see their top potential playing together. The Pistons aren’t going to get rolled over, but they are going to go down.
This is going to be an interesting series to pay attention to. I believe the New York Knicks overpower the Pistons, but we’re talking a 7-game series here. Much can go wrong in one or two games, and most of the time, that’s all an underdog needs to swing the odds in their favor. While I by no means have any expectation of that happening, there is always a chance.
This was a great developmental year for the Pistons. Cunningham will get his first playoff experience, and with the team they’ve put together in Detroit, it’ll be useful down the road.
Final Thoughts
It’s nice to see the Pistons stir things up and put themselves on the competing side of the conference rather than the lottery side. This is simply too hard of a matchup for them. The New York Knicks should be talked about much more. It’s crazy to say they’re a dark horse contender when they could easily sneak their way to the Conference Finals or even the Finals. I like what I’ve seen out of Brunson and KAT together. Now it’s time to apply that to the NBA Playoffs.
