The New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons will face off in what should be an exciting playoff matchup. New York has high expectations that they are looking to fulfill this year, while Detroit was one of the league’s best surprise stories after completing a remarkable turnaround this season.
The Knicks and Pistons will be in for a hard-fought battle
Cade Cunningham has broken out into a true superstar, leading the Pistons to national prominence, and should be a tough out for New York. Though the Knicks have two All-Stars in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Pistons have an abundance of young talent themselves who can give them a run for their money.
Cunningham had a one-on-one interview with ESPN’s Shams Charania and broke down how he thinks the series will play out.
“It’s going to be a war,” Cunningham said Sunday on ESPN (h/t Stefan Bondy of the New York Post). “It’s going to be highly physical games — defense, battling it out on the glass, all of those different things. I think it’s going to be a super exciting series for people at home to watch, and it’s going to be a great test for us as far as first round, first series in a long time for the organization. So it’s exciting, and I think it’s going to be a great one for us.”
The Knicks must slow down Cunningham to win the series
The Knicks should be heavily favored in this matchup, but the Pistons gave them problems during the regular season. Detroit took three of the four matchups with New York in the regular season, and they showcased a ton of their grittiness and physicality in their last matchup last Thursday.
Detroit plays with a hard-nosed mentality that the Knicks will need to match in their playoff series. Furthermore, New York’s biggest priority will need to be to slow down Cunningham and prevent him from taking over games.
If the Knicks gameplan this series well, they will be in good shape to come out of the series with a win and advance to the second round. Game 1 of their first-round series tips off at 6 P.M. EST on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.