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Knicks Face Challenging Offensive Matchup vs. Pistons

The New York Knicks could run into some trouble against the Detroit Pistons.

Jeremy Brener

New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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The New York Knicks face a challenging matchup against the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.

New York has one of the league's best offenses, but The Athletic insider James Edwards III thinks it could struggle potentially against the powerful Pistons defense.

"Since Jan. 1, Detroit ranks fifth in the NBA in defense. J.B. Bickerstaff has done a good job of getting these guys to buy in on that end of the floor, and past general manager Troy Weaver and current general manager Trajan Langdon did a solid job identifying players willing to compete on that end," Edwards writes.

"Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland will do their best to give Jalen Brunson hell. Isaiah Stewart is an elite rim protector, and he might be even better defending one-on-one in space. Cunningham was a good on-ball defender this season. Jalen Duren made strides. Even Tobias Harris competes and knows where to be on that end of the floor. This team really is on a string more often than not defensively.

"The Knicks had issues with the teams that play hard on defense — they went 9-20 against the team that finished in the top 10 defensively. That’s what the Pistons do. New York needs to neutralize this by keeping the turnovers down (they’ve been a low-turnover team all season), moving the ball, cutting and getting creative with their actions away from the ball."

The Knicks won just one of the four meetings against the Pistons this season. That will have to change if the Knicks want to advance to the second round, but the playoffs are a different animal.

If New York can rely on its experience and if the offense can click, the team could make quick work of Detroit.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several On SI sites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid and resides in Central Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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