Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (8-23) at New York Knicks (5-29)
- Date: January 2
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Television: FSD
Get in the Game
The Detroit Pistons are enjoying what they could very well qualify as prosperity, thanks to a three-game winning streak. It’s the longest period they’ve gone without losing so far this season, and many will likely connect the dots and point to the fact that this stretch coincides directly with Josh Smith’s departure from the team.
Fair or not?
Well, Detroit has morphed into a juggernaut ever since Smith was waived. After ranking in the league’s bottom-five scoring teams throughout the season, the Pistons are scoring 116.8 points per 100 possessions in their last three games, per NBA.com. That’s the second-best mark in basketball over that time.
It’s worth noting that Detroit has shot a blistering 45.6 percent from downtown, a mark that won’t hold up the rest of the way. Still, one can certainly conclude that the “right” players are now taking the adequate shots from the field, and that’s resulted in a more fluid offense.
Nonetheless, I’d like to reiterate that the blistering shooting won’t hold up. Some of the Pistons’ treys during the streak have been contested transition shots and some low-percentage looks in the half court. Good defensive teams can get away with that type of shot discipline, and the Pistons are not one of them.
However, they’ve been fairly remarkable during the winning streak on this front. NBA.com tells us that Detroit has trotted out a top-four defense during its string of victories.
To be fair, the opposition hasn’t exactly been stellar. The Pistons have beaten the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic—all by double digits. Detroit has defeated teams that are either bad or mediocre, but the fact remains that they have beaten them by big margins, which is usually something that good teams do.
Where does that leave the Pistons? In truth, it’s far too soon to tell. Three contests is a really small sample size, but I do wonder whether waiving Smith put the team on notice as it pertains to playing harder. Shape up or get shipped out.
This makes tonight’s matchup with the New York Knicks another opportunity to assess these “new” Pistons. New York is coming off a blowout loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Knicks looked pretty much like the team they’ve been all season.
At the behest of team president Phil Jackson, New York is trying to run the triangle offense, but the players simply haven’t figured it out quite yet. If anything, it looks like the Knicks have regressed. Further complicating matters, Carmelo Anthony – the team’s best player – is dealing with knee soreness that could sideline him at any point in time.
“It’s tough. Some days you’re able to do some things, some days you’re not,” Anthony said per Ramona Shelburne for ESPN New York. “Some days it’s tough to even run around and cut and jump. And then other days I come in and I don’t really feel it. I’m playing because I love to play and I want to play. I know what I can tolerate and what I can’t tolerate. The games I feel like I can’t tolerate it, I’m not going to play.”
Anthony is having a good season by his own lofty standards as evidenced by his averages of 23.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in 36.1 minutes. But it appears as though it’s merely a matter of time before the Knicks shut him down. Melo will be in the lineup tonight, and his presence should give this contest a certain level of intrigue considering that Anthony is one of the league’s best scorers.
Carmelo will give Detroit’s newfound stinginess a rather big test, and this matchup will provide some clarity on how far these Pistons have come.
Read about the Knicks