The Detroit Pistons are underdogs in their opening round playoff series against the New York Knicks after completing an unlikely season that landed them the 6th seed.
The Knicks won 51 games, have home court advantage and a decided edge in playoff experience over the much-younger Pistons.
That’s why not a single expert picked the Pistons to win the series, with Detroit’s lack of playoff experience cited as the biggest reason.
This is a fair assessment, as most young teams have to take their lumps in the playoffs early on before eventually breaking through. We’ve seen it most recently with the OKC Thunder, who suffered some first-round losses and playoff misses before breaking through last season and making the second round. They are obviously hoping to make it even further this season and win a title.
Even Michael Jordan’s Bulls had to get thumped by the Pistons a few times before finally overcoming the more experienced team, so there is ample history of how young teams fare in the playoffs.
There’s also the fact that the Knicks do have experience. All 11 of their top players have been in the playoffs, ranging from Mitchell Robinson’s 17 games all the way up to PJ Tucker, who has played in an incredible 104 playoff games.
Jalen Brunson has been in 49, Karl Anthony-Towns 32, OG Anunoby 36, Mikal Bridges 39, Josh Hart 24 and the list goes all the way to their deep bench guys like Delon Wright, Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet.
Meanwhile, the Pistons have three starters who have never even sniffed a playoff game, much less appeared in one and that also applies to two of their key bench players. All of these guys are 23 years old or younger down to Ron Holland, who is 19.
But the Pistons aren’t completely bereft of playoff experience and hope that the veterans they do have can balance the inexperience of youth.
Detroit Pistons playoff experience
Trajan Langdon made it a point to add reliable veteran players who hadn’t missed a lot of games and who had some experience in the playoffs to try and balance a young roster that had been decimated with injuries.
Mission accomplished, as Tobias Harris (73), Tim Hardaway Jr. (77) and Malik Beasley (82) were all on the floor for most of the season, and all of it in Beasley’s case.
They will also bring playoff experience, as Harris has played in 61 playoff games, with 42 games for THJ and 37 for Beasley. Langdon also added Paul Reed, who has appeared in the playoffs 32 times and could provide some valuable backup minutes if one of the centers gets into foul trouble.
Then Langdon added Dennis Schroder at the deadline, who could end up being the most important addition for the playoffs. He leads the team with 68 playoff appearances and JB Bickerstaff may lean on him late in games, as Schroder is not afraid of the big moment.
Let’s not forget that Schroder led the German national team to a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and a fourth-place finish in the 2024 Olympics and he was often the best player on the floor.
Don’t be surprised to see Dennis Schroder take over at times, especially if the Knicks throw everything at Cade Cunningham.
While none of the Pistons’ best players have been in the playoffs, their most important veterans have, and JB Bickerstaff will use them to balance his team’s inexperience.