There is no doubt that injuries have played a big part in the Detroit Pistons’ 2-7 start to the 2023-24 season.
You can complain about Cade Cunningham’s turnovers, Jaden Ivey’s lack of minutes, Killian Hayes’ 3-point shooting and the copious fouling, but the truth is that this record would probably look different if the Pistons had even some of the six players currently on the injury list back in the rotation.
This isn’t an excuse for some of their faults, but it’s fair to provide context and hard to fully evaluate this team while they are missing key veterans.
The Detroit Pistons entered the season with an open roster spot, hoping to keep flexibility for future moves, but that plan had to be altered due to all of the injuries and we could see a familar face back into the rotation tonight against the 76ers in the first in-season tournament game.
Will Kevin Knox play for the Detroit Pistons tonight?
Two days ago, the Detroit Pistons announced that they had signed forward Kevin Knox to fill their open roster spot:
Monty Williams on the Kevin Knox signing: "To add a talented guy who hasn't been able to find a consistent rhythm in the league that was here & everybody loved him, he has a skillset that we hope to be able to grow."
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) November 8, 2023
Called him a "needed talent" due to the Pistons' injury woes.
You might recall that the 24-year-old Knox played 42 games for the Pistons last season, averaging 5.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14 minutes per game while shooting 37 percent from long range.
Knox did have a couple of big games for Detroit, scoring 21 against the Utah Jazz and having seven games overall when he scored in double digits. He did the same after being traded to Portland, putting up 24 and 30 points (with 11 rebounds) in two of their final games of the season.
Knox has his faults, but he can get hot from the 3-point line and could provide some additional minutes and spacing for the second unit as they wait to get Alec Burks, Isaiah Livers and Jaden Ivey back from injury.
Injuries forced the Detroit Pistons into a 9-man rotation against the Bucks that included run for two-way players Stanley Umude and Jared Rhoden, so it’s possible we’ll see Knox in action soon, taking some of those minutes.
Kevin Knox is not a long-term solution but let’s hope he can provide Detroit with some quality minutes from the bench and maybe even one of those big games while they wait to get healthy.