Knicks vs. Pistons: How & Who to Watch in Motown Threequel
If the New York Knicks faced the Detroit Pistons every night, they'd be fighting for a top spot in the Eastern Conference.
New York and Detroit have met four times this season, including a pair of preseason showdowns, and each get-together has ended with the Knicks on the right side of the scoreboard. The Knicks, in fact, have prevailed in each of the last eight tilts, dating back to early 2020.
A visit to the Motor City, preceding a four-game homestand, is perhaps the perfect antidote for a New York group struggling to maintain any sort of consistency. Despite a recent 3-2 road trip out west, the Knicks have dropped four of their past five, the latest being a 127-123 defeat at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday evening in Manhattan. New York's dire recent fortunes have ejected them from the Eastern Conference's premature playoff picture, as they currently sit a half-game out of playoff consideration.
The rebuilding Pistons have been locked in a struggle all season, though they mustered a brief winning streak on the road just before the Thanksgiving hiatus. Those wins over Denver and Utah, however, have since given way to another series of defeats, the latter in an active two-game slide coming on Sunday at home against Cleveland.
Another matchup in Detroit awaits the Knicks on Jan. 15.
What: New York Knicks (9-11) at Detroit Pistons (5-17)
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
When/Watch: Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, MSG/MSG Go
Keep An Eye On: Jalen Brunson
Enough can't truly be written about how, at least through the first de facto quarter of the season, Brunson has lived up to his $104 million billing and then some. The former Dallas Maverick has fully embraced being the Knicks' top option, averaging 32 points (on 51 percent shooting) and over seven assists in his last three games. If he reached 30 points again tonight, he'll become the third New Yorker in the past decade to do so in four consecutive showings (joining Carmelo Anthony and teammate Julius Randle).
But Brunson has focused on his shortcomings, namely his failure to secure crucial baskets in crunch time: he had a chance to break a late tie against Portland on Friday as well as separate opportunities for both go-ahead and equalizing shots in the aforementioned folly against Memphis. Both proved futile, dooming the Knicks to defeat.
“My teammates and coaches have a lot of trust in me and they've welcomed me with open arms," Brunson said after the Memphis shortcoming. "That hurts when I can't pull through for them. That hurts."
Brunson has come up big in many a fourth quarter for the Knicks so far. Sunday's 30-point effort even came when he was dealing with quad issues that made him questionable on the injury report. There's a prime opportunity to get back on the right track against the reeling Pistons: how will Brunson embrace that chance?
Piston to Watch: Saddiq Bey
As the Pistons inch toward another trade deadline of selling, they've reportedly opened the bidding with the sacrifice of Bey, a third-year first-round pick and Brunson's fellow Villanova alum. Like almost anyone involved with Pistons basketball this year, Bey has needed some time off due to injury (only Hamidou Diallo and Killian Hayes have appeared in all 22 games thus far), but he returned to a 15-point, five-rebound performance in 35 Sunday minutes.
With Bey's showcase unofficially underway, he'll look to prove his worth to his potential suitors or even make a case to stick around for Detroit's ongoing rebuild. Bey was a rare Motor City silver lining in the first meeting with the Knicks back in October: despite a 130-106 loss in this year's Madison Square Garden opener, Bey earned 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting. The Knicks' visit could also be a good opportunity for Bey to rediscover his three-point spark, as he's shooting up 29 percent from deep so far this season.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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