The Detroit Pistons have a chance to do something they haven’t done in a very long time: Sweep the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden.
Prior to the Pistons’ win over the Knicks in New York in early December, Detroit had lost 16 straight to the Knicks, their longest losing streak entering the season.
The Pistons haven't swept the Knicks in New York since the 2018-19 season, something they had also done the year before, so there was a time when Detroit dominated the Knicks for years.
Times have changed and the Knicks are the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference while the Pistons are in 8th, but just a game back from Milwaukee and the 6th seed.
It’s nice to have meaningful basketball between two marquee franchises that haven’t both been good in the same season for a LONG time.
The Knicks are fresh off eviscerating the Bucks last night behind 44 points from Jalen Brunson, so this will be the second game of a back-to-back and Brunson had to leave last night’s game in the 4th quarter, but will he be back?
Pistons injuries vs. Knicks: Is Jalen Brunson playing tonight?
Aside from Jaden Ivey, the Pistons are at full strength, as Tim Hardaway Jr. returned to have a monster game against the Raptors, but check the injury report before the game for any late additions.
The Knicks have both Mitchell Robinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. listed as out and captain Jalen Brunson listed as day-to-day with an apparent right shoulder injury, so again, check the official injury report before the game.
Brunson has torched the Pistons to the tune of 33 points and 7.5 assists per game over their last six meetings, so a night off for him would be welcome from Detroit. Either way, this won’t be an easy game and tips off 13-straight against playoff contenders that will take the Pistons right up to the trade deadline.
How to watch Pistons vs. Knicks
The game will be televised on the usual channel, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit, as well as on the radio on 97.1 FM The Ticket.
You can find all of your streaming options here.
Keys for the Pistons
Detroit rode a monster triple-double from Cade Cunningham and hot 3-point shooting to beat the Knicks back in December.
Detroit got a combined 12-of-18 shooting night from long range from Cunningham and Malik Beasley, and though they don’t have to launch as many 3’s tonight, they will need someone else to step up with Ivey out.
Beasley has been up and down of late, but the Pistons will need either him or THJ to hit long-range shots and will need Cunningham to just keep doing his thing.
Cade has been brilliant of late and has some real hype behind him not just for the All-Star game but as possibly the best guard in the conference. This would be a huge win against a good team on a big stage that would help these arguments.