For the months prior to the conclusion of the regular season, there has been grumblings of who Detroit might face in the First Round of the playoffs, with New York being the most common assumption. It it now official. The Knicks have secured the 3 seed, and will take on the Detroit Pistons in a 7 game series. The Pistons have won the last 3 meetings after being slaughtered at home in their first game. It appears the Pistons have all the momentum, and the New York faithful’s confidence is withering as they have stumbled into the playoffs. Next we will look at what the Pistons can do to knock off the Knicks in the First Round.

Points in the Paint

The Knicks have gone on a major transition from a more physical and defensive minded squad, to a team that wants to outscore you. The losses of Isaiah Hartenstein, Donte Divencenzo and Julius Randle has taken a lot of the grit from them team, and made them much more susceptible to being exploited on the interior. They rank towards the bottom of the league in interior defense and this opens up an opportunity for the Pistons to attack that weakness. The Pistons rank 5th in points in the paint and it would pay major dividends in they’re able to assert their presence down low. The Knicks front court consist a tough but undersized Josh Hart and Karl Anthony Towns whose never been known for protecting the rim. They may elect to utilize Mitchell Robinson in the starting lineup to combat the physicality of Jalen Duren and company.

Bench play

The Knicks have a very high-powered offense led by the two-headed monster of Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson. With complimentary pieces in Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby doing their part to compliment the two stars. Once you get pass the starting lineup the Knicks struggle to produces a comparable offensive output from their bench. The Knicks rank close to the bottom in bench points, and if the Pistons can get New York’s starting lineup into foul trouble they have a good opportunity to outmatch them in that category. The Knicks have 3 players within their starting lineup that fall within the top 5 in minutes per game (Hart, Bridges, Anunoby). Detroit can comfortably go 9 deep in the rotation, keeping the starters fresh down the stretch to close out ball games. The Pistons rank 6th in bench points and are led by Malik Beasley who is enjoying a career year, where he has knocked down 319 shots from the outside.

Cade Cunningham has owned the Knicks this season. Amazing performance tonight for the #Pistons All Star

36 points, 16-24 from the field, 2-5 from 3, 8 assists 🏀 pic.twitter.com/GLLqsQHMj0

— Eric Vincent (@IAmEricVincent) April 11, 2025

Pace

Detroit is a team that likes to push the tempo and convert good defensive plays into transition opportunities for the offense. They rank 8th in the league as far as pace is concerned and 2nd in fast break points. The Knicks on the other hand would prefer to muddy things up and slow the game down, operating in the half court. If the Pistons can consistently speed the pace of the game up they will be able to wear New York down with their preferably shorter rotations.

The Pistons and Knicks kickoff the series on Saturday April 19th in Madison Square Garden.