Can the Pistons beat the Knicks to win their first NBA playoff series in 17 years?

The New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons, two of the NBA’s premier franchises, haven’t met in the playoffs since 1992. During those 33 years, the organizations have had winding, yet similar paths to get here.

The Knicks and Pistons are more akin to one another than either fan base would care to admit. For the larger part of the last 15 years, both franchises have struggled, with losing season after losing season piling up, and the NBA Draft being the biggest beacon of hope. New York has had things turned around for longer, posting a winning season each of the last four years. And while the Pistons have been at or around the NBA’s mountaintop more frequently than the Knicks since 2000, Detroit has hit the lowest of lows, finishing with 31 combined in the two seasons before this one. The Pistons are back in the mix after being the best story in basketball, going from 14 to 44 wins in a season.

Both fan bases are as imposing and committed as any in the sport. Madison Square Garden is like no other arena in the NBA, with rabid fans who travel far and wide to see their team play. Detroit fans led the league in attendance for most of the 2000s, during their last great era as a franchise.

The NBA is better when both the Knicks and Pistons are good.

To break down what’s to come, The Athletic’s Knicks (and former Pistons) beat writer James L. Edwards III and Pistons beat writer Hunter Patterson discuss the matchup, including what to watch for, X-factors, predictions and more.

How would you best summarize your team’s regular season? 

Edwards: Good but not good enough is probably the best way to put it. New York won 51 games, its highest win total in 12 seasons. That’s an accomplishment in itself. However, the Knicks only improved by one game from last year after trading a boatload of draft picks last offseason to acquire Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. The expectation was that this team would be mentioned among the league’s best, but New York went 0-10 against the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s why there is some angst going into the postseason.

To take it one step further, when you take out the three opponents above, the Knicks were just 15-13 against teams that finished this season with a winning record — including 1-3 vs. Detroit. I know people like to dismiss the regular season, but an 82-game schedule tells a story. Maybe this is just what New York is — a good, talented team with significant flaws as a collective. Maybe there still is a higher level it can get to. We’re about to find out.

New York is going into the postseason healthy, so that’s good. But the Knicks ended the season playing nowhere near their best basketball, which was the main objective all season long.

Ultimately, New York has a few too many questions to be answered with the playoffs now here.

Patterson: This was the best Pistons season since 2016 when they went 44-38 and lost in the first round. Detroit became the first team in NBA history, during back-to-back 82-game seasons, to triple its win total from the season before. The Pistons have exceeded expectations.

Cade Cunningham had a career year, but I’m not quite sure people understand the magnitude of the season he had. He finished the season averaging 26.1 points, 9.1 assists and 6.1 rebounds, and shot 35.6 percent from 3-point range. He joins Nikola Jokić (twice), LeBron James and Luka Dončić as the only players in NBA history to average those numbers for an entire season.

Cunningham is the youngest to do it at 23 years old.

All things considered, the Pistons have overachieved this season. Securing a homecourt first-round matchup was about the only thing Detroit didn’t do this year. And while the Pistons begin their postseason journey at Madison Square Garden, they were undefeated there during the regular season. It also helps that Cunningham was good for 32.5 points on 56.3 percent from 3 in his two trips to MSG this year.

Cade Cunningham with a STELLAR showing in a potential first-round preview!

😤 36 PTS
😤 8 AST

Pistons get the win over New York! pic.twitter.com/mqnTD5mdmP

— NBA (@NBA) April 11, 2025

What has to happen for your team to win the series?

Patterson: Cunningham has had his way with the Knicks this season, so I’m not expecting that to change much. But New York will likely throw different defenders and schemes at Cunningham, so someone will need to alleviate that pressure down the stretch. Whether it’s Tobias Harris, Dennis Schröder, Malik Beasley or Tim Hardaway Jr., the Pistons will need a second option offensively.

Someone other than Cunningham will need to be relied upon for between 15 to 18 points consistently. Schröder has 68 playoff games under his belt, Harris has 61 and Hardaway has 42. Even if it isn’t one of those players, another Piston will need to step up offensively.

Edwards: The Knicks need to find a way to slow down Cunningham. As you mentioned, Hunter, Detroit really doesn’t have a No. 2 option right now, so forcing anyone other than Cunningham to make plays should be priority No. 1 for New York.

After that, the Knicks need to get up more 3-pointers. They finished the regular season ranked 27th in 3-point attempts. That’s partially why, despite having an efficient offense, certain teams were able to give New York trouble. The Knicks play at a slow pace, don’t shoot the 3-ball a ton and, for most of the year, allowed teams to shoot well from 3 against them. New York needs to make sure it creates opportunities for Towns to be able to shoot from 3-ball, especially against a Pistons team that has really struggled against pick-and-pop bigs. The players also need to make sure they’re disciplined with their spacing and make on-time, on-target passes.

Can the Knicks find a way to stop Cade Cunningham? (Photo: David Reginek / Imagn Images)

What should your team be most worried about?

Edwards: Other than Cunningham, the Knicks should be worried about the Pistons’ ability to defend at a high level and their pace.

Since Jan. 1, Detroit ranks fifth in the NBA in defense. J.B. Bickerstaff has done a good job of getting these guys to buy in on that end of the floor, and past general manager Troy Weaver and current general manager Trajan Langdon did a solid job identifying players willing to compete on that end.

Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland will do their best to give Jalen Brunson hell. Isaiah Stewart is an elite rim protector, and he might be even better defending one-on-one in space. Cunningham was a good on-ball defender this season. Jalen Duren made strides. Even Tobias Harris competes and knows where to be on that end of the floor. This team really is on a string more often than not defensively.

The Knicks had issues with the teams that play hard on defense — they went 9-20 against the team that finished in the top 10 defensively. That’s what the Pistons do. New York needs to neutralize this by keeping the turnovers down (they’ve been a low-turnover team all season), moving the ball, cutting and getting creative with their actions away from the ball.

Patterson: Containing Brunson. While he only led the Knicks to one regular-season win against the Pistons this year, he’s been a playoff problem since getting to New York. An injury shortened his postseason run last year, but he’s still been good for 30.1 points, 6.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds during his two playoff runs as a Knick.

Brunson did miss 15 consecutive games near the end of this season because of a sprained right ankle. But he seems to thrive when the lights are brighter during the postseason. He’s a two-time All-Star and All-NBA selection for a reason. It’ll be imperative for Detroit not to allow Brunson to get too much into a rhythm because he is talented enough to single-handedly shift the tide of a series.

Who is the X-factor on your team? 

Edwards: In my eyes, it’s either Bridges or Josh Hart.

Bridges will likely start with the assignment of guarding Cunningham. It takes more than one person to guard a player of that level, but it’s important that Bridges makes Cunningham work at the point of attack and sets the tone. On the other end, the Knicks need Bridges to be a more efficient shooter from 3 and attack the rim more frequently than he did during the regular season. He only shot 35.4 percent from 3 through 82 games, which was the lowest mark since his rookie year. To go further, Bridges knocked down only 30.5 percent of his 3s from above the break. New York needs that to be better.

As it pertains to attacking the rim, being aggressive and getting players in foul trouble will be important against a young Pistons team. Bridges only took 118 free throws in 82 games, which is the lowest of anyone in the starting group by almost 100. The midrange game that Bridges loves has its advantages, especially in the postseason, but the other stuff is better for team offense and can help deflate an opponent.

As for Hart, the Pistons will likely dare him to shoot. He does everything else well offensively, but teams are going to try and force him to take 3s. Hart made the Philadelphia 76ers pay from deep in their last playoff series and it really swung things for New York.

Josh Hart’s regular season comes to an end –– career year:

13.6 points
52.5% FG
9.6 rebounds career high
5.9 assists career high
1.5 steals career high pic.twitter.com/2iNS9rskvX

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 13, 2025

Patterson: Ausar Thompson, although Isaiah Stewart comes to mind as well.

Towns finished with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting and added 10 rebounds and five assists in his last matchup against the Pistons. But Towns was 2 of 7  with three turnovers when guarded by Stewart. Stewart’s physicality seemed to bother Towns, so I’m interested to see how well he can neutralize Towns in the postseason.

As for Thompson, he has a knack for impacting the game. He’s occasionally struggled with foul trouble this season, a result of usually guarding opposing teams’ best perimeter players. But when Thompson is at his best defensively, Detroit is a different team. Thompson can nullify the impact of opposing teams’ best players while still contributing offensively. His jumper is still a work in progress, but he’s shown growth this season at getting downhill, even when defenders sag off him.

Thompson also does a great job of turning defense into offense for this group. His speed and court vision allow him to take turnovers the opposite way in transition to create looks for himself as well as his teammates. This will be Thompson’s first postseason experience, but he has an opportunity to change the complexion of this series in favor of Detroit.

Who wins the series and why?

Edwards: I’m going to go with the Knicks in six games. I think each game will be a dogfight, but ultimately the Knicks’ talent and experience wins out. Detroit can be sloppy with the ball and, as we mentioned before, doesn’t have a true No. 2 playmaker. In a playoff series against a good team with intense game-planning like the Knicks, I think those things will be tough to overcome. Detroit’s struggles with stretch bigs this season is worth noting again, too.

With that said, if the Pistons ended up winning in six or seven games, I wouldn’t be surprised. There has been a fragility about the Knicks this season when going up against tough, hard-playing teams. Everything New York struggled with during the regular season, Detroit does well or around league average.

I also think it’ll help Detroit’s psyche knowing that they’ve already won twice at MSG this season.

But I’ve got to go with the Knicks in six. The starting five might be too talented and experienced for a first-time playoff squad.

Patterson: I’ll go Pistons in seven. I imagine this may cause a few eyes to roll, but Cunningham is the best player in the series. The Knicks haven’t had an answer for him all season and I don’t see that changing. Bickerstaff has alluded throughout the year to Cunningham performing his best in the biggest moments.

Well, this will be the biggest stage Cunningham has played on in his career.

Obviously, New York is the more experienced team. The Knicks have every right to feel confident going into this matchup based on that experience. But so does Detroit, seeing as how it has gotten the best of New York three out of four times during the regular season. I see the Pistons winning one of the first two games at Madison Square Garden, but I think they’ll have to close it out there as well to win this series.

(Top photo of Cade Cunningham defending Jalen Brunson: Elsa / Getty Images)

This post was originally published on this site