Exclusive: Knicks Legends Emphasizing Old School Pistons Series

Madison Square Garden was once well-known for its boxing offerings. The New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons might try anything in their power to restore that reputation over their ongoing NBA playoff series.

Physicality will likely be the name of the game in the best-of-seven first-round set where the Knicks currently own a 1-0 lead. While they'll need to do more to fully resemble the infamous "Bad Boys" partly headlined by former Knicks exec Isiah Thomas, Detroit has built its current success through its sense of forceful, if not calculated, reckless abandon on the floor and will likely continue to do so in pursuit of an upset win.

Speaking with Knicks on SI, Knicks legends Larry Johnson and John Starks stressed the importance of matching, if not exceeding, that healthy physicality, analyzing the series while greeting fans at "Playoff Palooza" in Battery Park.

"Detroit, physically, that's going to be a problem, because those guys, the last two or three months of month of season, they got it together," Johnson said at the de facto Knicks pep rally in the shadow of the Freedom Tower. "Their coach has really got them playing well, and they playing physical. I hate to say it, but I like physical basketball, so we going to definitely have to get ready for a physical game. Not clock, not not worry about the refs. Let the refs call what they're gonna call, but just be able to take the hit and keep playing. Not not worry about the refs, let the refs call what they're going to call, but just be able to take the hit and keep playing."

Johnson and Starks are well-versed in physical affairs, having staged their Knicks tenures and respective heydays in the late 1990s, where sterling on-floor play was occasionally interrupted by extracurriculars and wayward arms. Starks noted that both sides might be able to get away with a little more and noted that the Knicks' own tenacity should not be ignored.

"We're a physical team too," noted Starks. "All of them play aggressively. It's going to take me back to our Indiana, New York Knicks days. It's going to be one of those games. During the playoffs the referess let you play a little bit more, as evidenced by what I've been seeing in the Play-In Tournament. It's going to be a drag-out, knock 'em down, type of game, going to take you back to 90s basketball."

The promises of physicality manifested in the early stages of Game 1 on Saturday night: several notable names, such as Mikal Bridges, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and Josh Hart all landed in early foul trouble and the two teams were each charged with 21 fouls. Further grit manifested at the end of the game when Jalen Brunson returned from an ankle injury to score a dozen fourth quarter points in the eventual 123-112 triumph.

New York enjoyed an extra bit of bruising prowess with Mitchell Robinson back in tow, which gave the Knicks an ideal counter to Detroit's second unit star Isaiah Stewart. Robinson pulled in six rebounds in his first showing against the Pistons this season.

All that and more moved Johnson to describe this current Knicks group as "tenacious," perhaps the idea quality for downing a team like Detroit.

"They're a little undersized," Johnson said. "I've never seen a 6-3, 6-4, guy like Josh Hart average, double-figure, rebounds. Then you got a OG, who is just a just a dog on defense. Jalen, as small as he is, he gets in the paint and gets his shots off over seven footers. That's what tenacity is. If they keep this up, they can go real far."

Make sure you bookmark Knicks on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns as and so much more!