The good news is that the Detroit Pistons played three solid quarters in their first playoff game in six years.
The bad news is that the wheels came off in the 4th as the Pistons allowed a 21-0 run by the Knicks in which Detroit finally looked like the young and inexperienced team that they are.
Credit to the Knicks, they dug in when they needed to and put the clamps on the Pistons, who committed a slew of late turnovers that cost them the game.
The Pistons got a lot of what they needed to win the game. Cade Cunningham didn’t force things early, and instead set up his teammates, who were all getting wide-open jumpers. The three veterans stepped up (along with Dennis Schroder off the bench) and Ausar Thompson scored in double figures.
But one of the biggest concerns coming into the series was realized, as Jalen Duren did not perform well, ending with a team-worst –20 net rating and contributing little to the effort.
The Pistons put Duren on Josh Hart early to avoid him defending Karl-Anthony Towns and did have some success hiding him, but the need to do this underscored Duren’s defensive limitations coming into the game.
The Pistons were hoping his offensive contributions would offset his defensive shortcomings, but Duren finished the game with just seven points and only took four shots. They need much more out of him if the Pistons are going to get the upset, especially now.
Isaiah Stewart injury update: The Pistons desperately need more Beef Stew
Isaiah Stewart was a big part of the 3rd-quarter beating the Pistons put on the Knicks even though he was clearly laboring on a bad leg.
Stew came down awkwardly early in the game and never looked right, so credit to him for staying out there and making an impact even though he was not close to 100 percent.
Stewart was a team-high +8 on the night and his defense was a big reason the Pistons enjoyed a 10-point swing in the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately it didn’t last.
Stewart had to leave the game and didn’t return, and the way coach JB Bickerstaff talked after the game, there is a good chance we may not see him again in this series, though he is listed as day-to-day so far.
The Pistons have an obvious adjustment to make in Game 2, which is to play Stewart more, but it’s not even clear if he’ll be able to play at all, and if he does, it definitely won’t be the 30+ minutes that they need.
I’m not going to come down too hard on the Pistons or Duren, as it was a young team’s first playoff game and they took their lumps, but it’s problematic when your starting center is a liability.
So now it’s on Duren to prove that he isn’t, and that starts by scoring some points and making KAT work on defense, as last night was way too easy for the Knicks’ center after Stewart left the game.
The answer is there, but he may be unable to play, in which case the Pistons’ job just got a lot harder.