The Detroit Pistons welcome the New York Knicks into Little Caesar’s Arena tonight for a game I’m not sure either team wants to win.
The Eastern Conference 3-6 playoff seeds are not yet certain, but as it stands right now, the Pistons and Knicks would play each other in the first round.
I speculated yesterday that this could lead to some gamesmanship from the two coaches, as they likely don’t want to show too much before they likely have to turn around and play this same team in the playoffs.
There’s also the issue that neither of these teams has much to gain from winning. The Pistons are comfortable playing the Knicks in the first round, and from New York’s perspective, if they were to drop to 4th, they’d take on the hobbled Bucks in the first-round and potentially avoid Boston in the second, which isn’t the worst outcome for them.
For those reasons, I am trying not to panic that Cade Cunningham is on the injury report again, this time with a knee issue, as both teams are sitting players tonight in what could end up being a playoff tank.
Let’s hope that’s all it is, as these late-season injuries to the Pistons are concerning even if you think they are just precautionary, as Detroit hasn’t played a game with their full complement of players in weeks, which is not the ideal way to head into the playoffs.
Whether this is gamesmanship or panic time, Detroit is not going to have much momentum with the postseason looming.
Pistons injuries vs. Knicks: Is Cade Cunningham playing tonight?
Jaden Ivey is still out for the Pistons, though we should be getting an update on his injury in the next few days as we are getting near the end of the 4-week period set after his last evaluation.
Cade Cunningham has been upgraded to probable for tonight’s game, but it’s the fact that it’s a different injury that is concerning.
It’s also concerning that Isaiah Stewart is listed as questionable with knee issue, though this too could just be JB Bickerstaff trying to protect his guys before the playoffs.
Tobias Harris is still out, and if you’re not worried about this yet, you haven’t been paying attention, as Harris is vital to this team’s success and hasn’t played since March 25th.
The Knicks will also sit several players tonight, as Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart are all out for tonight’s game.
It’s hard to imagine a coach like Tom Thibodeau ever tanking for any reason, but the Knicks have nothing at stake, as they are guaranteed to host a playoff series in the first round and probably don’t care if they drop.
How to watch Pistons vs Knicks
This 7:00 PM ET tip-off will be shown on TV 20 Detroit as well as FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra.
You can listen to the radio on 950 AM or use one of many streaming options.