The Detroit Pistons were once again severely undermanned against a struggling New York Knicks team, but were able to bully their way to a 122-102 victory.
In a game where the Detroit Pistons assisted on 37 of their 44 made field goals, it’s safe to say that this was one of the more impressive victories of the season thus far. Despite the Knicks starting off the season slow, this was still an important game for the Pistons to win, and they did it soundly.
Seemingly everyone that saw minutes for the Pistons tonight contributed in a positive manner, including Andre Drummond‘s near triple double with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Along with Tony Snell‘s scintillating scoring display with 24 points on one hundred percent shooting, going 6 for 6 from deep tonight.
The flow of the offense was on point throughout the night, despite the defense lacking in the first half. The problem that consistently faces Detroit is their inability to prevent the opposition from getting into an offensive rhythm. Tonight, Marcus Morris, Frank Ntilikina and Julius Randle were frequent forces that the Pistons struggled to defend.
Players of the game
For New York – Julius Randle. Being one of the more consistent options on offense for the Knicks and even doing a decent job defending Drummond, Randle proved he’s one of New York’s bright spots tonight. He finished with 20 points on 53 percent shooting.
For Detroit – Tony Snell. Just for reiteration and clarification that it was not a typo – Snell did not miss a shot tonight. He made all 9 of his attempts, including 10 of the Pistons first 12 points to open the game. This will go down as his best game of the season.
Key moment
With 7:50 remaining in the third quarter, Detroit lead 74-72. Markieff Morris hit a three-point shot while picking up a foul – which ended up being called a flagrant one on Randle. Morris proceeded to knock down his free throw, and with the flagrant Detroit got the ball again. This lead to a layup by Drummond, giving the Pistons a 6 point possession, something that Detroit never looked back from.
Nick’s notes
More from PistonPowered
- Which Detroit Pistons could save Team USA in the Olympics?
- Detroit Pistons could have major roster churn after 2023-24 season
- The best Detroit Pistons to wear each uniform number
- Full Detroit Pistons NBA 2K24 ratings
- Detroit Pistons: Who will sign the remaining NBA free agents?
This was an extremely entertaining game to watch. As I mentioned earlier, the Pistons assisted on 84 percent of their made field goals tonight, which is exceptional. The fluidity of the offense and frequent execution of sets to free up shooters made the difference tonight. Detroit out-hustled, out-shot, out-rebounded, and out-played the Knicks tonight.
For the third time – yes, Snell actually did that tonight. My favorite thing about him is something that Detroit doesn’t have too often – a wing who very clearly understands his role. You won’t see Snell attempting to play hero ball and forcing ill-advised shots, but only attempting the ones that he knows he can hit. He knows his role and he embraces it.
Drummond continuing his dominance tonight was a sure sight. He’s becoming increasingly better at controlling his body when finishing at the rim, which he did multiple times tonight. Along with that, despite throwing a few bad passes, his court vision tonight was exceptional.
At the end of the day, the Pistons desperately need Blake Griffin to return to the lineup, and they should be expecting him back soon. For now though, this was a satisfying and much needed victory.