A highly anticipated matchup for Pistons players and fans alike is the team’s first go at the New York Knicks. The Pistons and Knicks battled in a hard-fought six-game series last season that ended with a Knicks' victory. Detroit is eager to get its revenge and will have the first game between the two circled on the calendar.
That first game will take place on January 5th as part of a larger important stretch of home games for the Pistons. Appropriately, it will be a nationally televised game on Peacock. The Pistons will be seeking revenge against the team that prematurely ended their first postseason trip in nearly a decade. And the Knicks will be looking to establish themselves as the top team in the Eastern Conference with hopes of getting to the Finals.
Detroit Pistons schedule: Poor planning from the NBA
Sadly, the Pistons will be on the second game of a back-to-back in this revenge game. Their first game is no walkover either; it’ll be on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who finished as the top seed in the East last season and are predicted to do the same next season.
On the bright side, the Cavs game is an afternoon one on a Sunday and the Knicks game isn’t until Monday night. The travel is also not bad, since Cleveland is the closest opposing team to Detroit. It’s probably the best case scenario for a back-to-back, but it still sucks that the Pistons can’t give their full attention to the Knicks game.
Reliving the Playoffs
The Pistons-Knicks series from last season was an exceptionally close one. Each of the last four games was decided by a single possession and the last game could have easily gone into overtime if Malik Beasley didn’t fumble his chance at a buzzer-beater. The Pistons were not outclassed by any means, but they were much worse in the clutch.
The Pistons also failed to register any home wins in the series, so Detroit fans will be hungry to see revenge enacted against the Knicks. At some points in last season’s series, Pistons fans went beyond just hoping the Knicks would lose and activity began criticizing the Knicks’ style of play. They especially took offense to Jalen Brunson’s embellishment of contact, which led to foul trouble for Ausar Thompson and other Pistons.
January 5th will be a great date for the Pistons to measure themselves against one of the East’s best teams and see if they’ve learned lessons since last year’s playoffs. If it’s anything like the postseason, we can expect another intense, physical game which will be hotly contested right up until the final whistle.