Knicks' Regular-Season Shortcomings Against Pistons Hold No Value

New York's past struggles against Detroit won't matter if they meed in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pistons had the Knicks' number in the regular season, but that doesn't mean history will repeat itself in the playoffs. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Knicks are resting calmly at home while the Cavaliers and Pistons fight it out for the other spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. The more we observe those two teams battle, the more obvious it seems that the Knicks are the best team in the East.

If Cleveland wins in six, the Knicks will get home court for a third straight series for the first time since 1994. Game 1 would be played on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. If they don’t close things out later tonight, the series will start on Tuesday, and the Knicks will face a team coming off back-to-back 7-game series wins. No matter what happens later, their opponent will have just one day off to boot.

With the way the top-seeded Pistons have struggled this postseason, the Knicks would be the favorite with or without home court. When you're favored either way, it’s hard to lean against opening a series at home. But there are plenty of arguments to be made about the Pistons being an easier matchup for the Knicks.

Pistons shouldn't scare the Knicks, even with home-court advantage

The Knicks lost all three of their games against the Pistons this year by a combined 84 points, averaging 28 points per game. The losses included 38- and 31-point beatdowns. But we should know better than basing things on the mostly meaningless regular season.

During the regular season last year, the Knicks were 1-3 against Detroit, who couldn't get past Tom Thibodeau's group in a highly contested opening round playoff series, which included New York winning all three games in Detroit.

As we’ve seen over the past few weeks, the playoffs are a different animal that has exposed Detroit’s offensive personnel limitations. All-world guard Cade Cunningham has had his fair share of struggles, and All-Star big man Jalen Duren has cost himself plenty of money.

The Knicks could take advantage of Cade Cunningham's inconsistencies in this postseason. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

In fairness to Cunningham, he’s done most of the heavy lifting by himself. But he has shot 44% from the field and has a playoff-high 69 turnovers. In his first 18 career playoff games now, Cunningham’s 101 turnovers are the most in NBA history (h/t @BarryOnHere), far surpassing Luka Doncic’s 87 turnovers.

Meanwhile, Duren rode the bench for the entirety of the fourth quarter and overtime in Detroit’s Game five loss. The 22-year-old big man averaged 19.5 points during the regular season. That number is down to 10.1 in these playoffs. The steep falloff marks the second-largest decline in production from an All-Star player in the postseason following Wilt Chamberlain’s 1962 campaign, which saw him average 50.4 points during the regular season and a measly 35.0 in the playoffs.

Over the summer, Detroit lost Malik Beasley, Dennis Schroder and Tim Hardaway Jr. All three could put the ball in the basket, which is the objective of the game. It’s something the Pistons are very much struggling with as they slog their way through these games.

Detroit's offensive limitations are glaring

The trio was replaced by Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson, who sat out Game 5 due to lower back soreness. Detroit was also banking on a jump from promising youngster Jaden Ivey. He’s now out of the league. They did, however, get big contributions from Daniss Jenkins, who started the year as a two-way player. He's struggled with the brighter lights and is shooting an unsightly 35.4% from the floor in these playoffs.

Heading into the playoffs, the 60-win Pistons were considered this “powerhouse” team that the Knicks had no chance to beat. Now the goalposts have been moved. Perhaps it should've been considered that this young group had never won a playoff series together before squeaking by Orlando in the opening round.

The Pistons' lack of playmakers could benefit the Knicks should these teams meet. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It's hard to go deep in the playoffs when your second-best creator is Tobias Harris. There is a noticeable lack of secondary playmaking and shooting, which allows defenses to sell out and send two at Cunningham without paying for it. New York can make Detroit pay for that lackluster depth.

Just remember: it's a new season now, and the Pistons never played this version of these Knicks. Head coach Mike Brown has his players on the same page and looking like a legitimate championship threat, making it interesting to see how the Eastern Conference Finals will shake out if these teams meet.