The New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons are set up for what should be an exciting matchup between two hungry teams. The Knicks achieved their second consecutive 50-win season and the third seed in the East while the Pistons completed a remarkable turnaround with a 44-38 record and earning the No. 6 seed.
The Knicks and Pistons are preparing for a potential down-to-the-wire series
Jalen Brunson and Cade Cunningham should be a fun matchup of two of the most electric guards in the league. Furthermore, both teams have some of the better role players in the league that can complement their stars.
Though the Knicks have more playoff experience and arguably better talent, the Pistons are not some pushover. Detroit took three of the four games against New York, so they have something figured out that New York will need to counter in the playoffs.
The Knicks are favored to knock off the Pistons in round 1
For that reason, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey is predicting a Knicks series win, but in a close seven games.
“On that end of the floor, Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns’ two-man game will flummox an aggressive but still largely untested defense. And the Knicks will win Game 7 in Madison Square Garden,” Bailey wrote.
New York has a higher level of talent to counter Cunningham and the rest of Detroit, but the Pistons play with a lot of physicality that New York has been unable to replicate this season. However, Brunson is one of the better playoff risers in the league, and if he can do what he did during last year’s playoffs, the odds should be heavily in their favor.
Game 1 of the series tips off on Saturday at 6 P.M. EST, with the game being played at Madison Square Garden.