The Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks fought in a physical and intense six game series in the first round of the playoffs last season. It was the Pistons first playoff series in six years, and the fans were more than ready to go. On a recent live episode of “The Roommates Show” podcast, Knicks forward Josh Hart gave kudos to Pistons fans for bringing the energy throughout that series.
Detroit fans are some of the most loyal and intense
The Knicks went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, so they experienced. several opposing crowds. In addition to Detroit, they also traveled to Boston and Indiana and picked up road wins there as well. However, Hart said that Detroit fans above all were the most intense in supporting their own team and cheering against the Knicks.
This shouldn’t be a surprise, considering how loyal and intense Detroit sports fans are. Many of the fans have been waiting multiple years for the Pistons to finally return to the playoffs and have some measure of success.
Pistons fans saw their team go through one of the worst tanks in NBA history and still showed up to support them. Even when the Pistons were winning fewer than 20 games per season, the team was still in the middle of the pack in the league from an attendance perspective. Last season that number jumped up to 9th.
A historic turnaround of adding 30 wins in just one season rejuvenated the fanbase and brought back the vaunted Detroit crowd to its fullest. The fact that the Detroit Lions are also experiencing a resurgence at the same time only adds to the fanbase’s excitement.
Unfortunately, the Pistons were unable to win any home games in the playoffs. That is one bit of redemption they are still seeking, and the fans are eager to see it happen.
The Pistons also had an identical record at home and on the road last season, going 22-19 in both situations. That was a rarity in the league: of playoff and play-in teams, only the Celtics, Bulls, Warriors and Kings joined the Pistons in winning at least as many games on the road as at home.
For the Pistons, that involved some bad home losses to Chicago, Philadelphia (without Joel Embiid), Utah and Washington which must be cleaned up next season. A team looking to make a real splash in the playoffs will absolutely kick themselves for losses of that nature.
Now that the fans know what this team is really capable of, the Detroit home crowd will bring even more energy for the Pistons. Hopefully the team really gives them something to cheer about, both in the regular season and playoffs.