By Eddie Castro
IThe NBA playoffs kicked off this weekend, and one of the most anticipated first-round series match-ups is the New York Knicks versus the Detroit Pistons. As I mentioned in last week’s column, in four meetings during the regular season, Detroit won three out of four games, granted key players on both sides did not play due to injury.
The Knicks struck first in Game 1, catapulted by a 21-0 scoring run in the fourth quarter. On Monday, the Pistons displayed their well-known physical presence on the Knicks, winning 100-94 to take Game 2. Pistons star Player Cade Cunningham led the way with a 33-point/12-rebound night, securing their first playoff win since May 26, 2008.
It was a tale of two tapes for the Knicks in both games. Coach Tom Thibodeau knows his team has to match Detroit’s physical presence and find a way to contain the force that is Cade Cunningham. The talk of Game 2 was about the ineffectiveness of Karl-Anthony Towns. After a 23-point-11 rebound effort performance, Towns was not as aggressive as he was in Game 1, scoring 10 points on just 5 for 11 shooting from the field. He only took three shots in the second half and did not score.
Brunson has been nothing short of Stellar in the first two games at Madison Square Garden, scoring 34 points in Game 1 and 37 in Game 2. However, all great teams need that consistent tag-team scoring partner, especially in the playoffs. The Warriors’ championship teams had Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant, the Lakers in the 2000s had Shaq and Kobe, and of course, Jordan’s Bulls of the ’90s had Scottie Pippen.
With both teams having won a game, the series now shifts to the Motor City for Game 3 tonight. There are three things New York must do to grab back the home-field advantage. 1. TOWNS MUST SHOW UP! There’s honestly no other way to put it. You can pretty much put him down for 20 points and 10 rebounds a night.
The Knicks need another scoring option, not named Jalen Brunson. 2. Tom Thibodeau has to get better production from his bench. During the regular season, the starting lineup of Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, Bridges, and Hart has a lineup average of 36.6 minutes played and a combined total of 709 minutes.
No other team has utilized a lineup that has played over 500 minutes. The last thing the Knicks need in a playoff series is their best players showing signs of fatigue. The third box the team should check off is creating a physical advantage for them and giving some of those minutes to P.J. Tucker. Tucker has championship experience and has been one of the most physical players in the NBA for a long time.
How do you match Detroit’s physical style? You insert a player who can not only match their intensity but would not be afraid to get in an opposing player’s face and be a straight bully. Whether Coach Thibs can make those adjustments remains to be seen.
The point is that the Knicks cannot return to Madison Square Garden down 3-1 in the series. They must capture at least one game in Detroit. It should be an exciting game tonight. Pizza and wings will be on standby in many New Yorkers’ households.
Sports Notes: (NFL Football) The 2025 NFL draft will begin tonight, live in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Giants currently hold the No.3 pick, and the New York Jets hold the No.7 pick. (BASEBALL) The Mets begin a 3-game series in the Nation’s capital against the Nationals on Friday night. The Yankees return to the Bronx on Friday night to begin a 3-game set against division rival the Toronto Blue Jays.