Pistons Helped Knicks Take Lead Over Celtics

The New York Knicks are better off having played the Detroit Pistons before the Boston Celtics in the playoffs.

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham dribbles defended by New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks did not look like a dominant team in their series against the Detroit Pistons, yet they prevailed in six games to advance to the second round.

Their reward for beating the Pistons was a date with the defending champion Boston Celtics, who had beaten them in all four meetings during the regular season.

However, the first two games of the series against the Celtics shows a different Knicks team that is ready to rise to the occasion.

"Six consecutive New York games, dating back to the third one against the Pistons, have come down to the final possession. It’s not like the first couple against Detroit were easy, either. The Knicks had a chance to tie Game 2 with under a minute to go but Bridges clanked a jumper, and they lost. Meanwhile, the Pistons led by eight points during the fourth quarter of Game 1, only for the Knicks to bang out a 21-0 run to win it," The Athletic insider Fred Katz wrote.

"These were not just close games against the Pistons. They were free-for-alls. Defenders brutalized dribblers. Screeners acted as if they were wearing armor. Fouls were no longer fouls. The Knicks’ lack of physicality was their biggest flaw during the season. It is no longer a problem as they fight the Celtics."

"It’s as if the Pistons beat it into them. And it’s as if mental strength accumulated from there."

The Knicks are in business against the Celtics, and they know they will need to continue bringing the physicality if they are to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.

If they can do that, it could be one of the biggest playoff upsets in years.

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