Detroit Pistons Still Must Earn National Respect This Season

Intense and passionate fandom can cloud perspective very easily.

Love can really be blind in the sports world. ESPN Analyst and 10-year NBA veteran Iman Shumpert spoke on Stephen A. Smith's First Take morning debate show Tuesday morning to preview Detroit's matchup against the New York Knicks this Thursday night on Amazon Prime.

The panel of debaters was asked this morning which team’s stock is worth buying more right now: The 35-20 New York Knicks or the 40-13 Detroit Pistons. The Knicks are a talented team with one of the most skilled starting lineups in the NBA right now. New York currently sits at No. 3 in the Eastern conference. The 35-19 Boston Celtics are ahead of New York by half of a game.

Where all the Eastern conference powerhouses sit in the standings don't seem to matter much to major pundits on television.

Pistons and Knick — Apr 27, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) walks away as New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrates the win during game four of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images | David Reginek-Imagn Images

Matchups are concerning

Iman Shumpert was an NBA guard and forward for 10 seasons. He spent his first two seasons with the New York Knicks and made his mark in Knicks history. The guard duo of Shumpert and JR Smith alongside superstar Carmelo Anthony created many fun memories of New York residents inside Madison Square Garden. Shumpert and Smith were both traded to Cleveland where they helped LeBron James and the Cavaliers win the 2016 NBA Finals.

Shumpert analyzed matchups between the two teams when defending his decision to buy more stock in the Knicks.

"I know the Pistons are playing well, I'm encouraged by it. I've seen Cade Cunningham develop, I've seen him grow. But when I see the Detroit Pistons matching up with the New York Knicks at the end of the game, I'm trying to figure out who you deal with Jalen Brunson and can you go back-and-forth making better decisions than he can in the fourth quarter."
Iman Shumpert on ESPN's First Take

Shumpert further elaborated when he said, "I expect the deciding factor to be can Cade Cunningham take care of the ball, because we saw last year he struggled with that." This was not an emotional take. Cunningham had five turnovers or more turnovers in five of the six games against New York last season and totaled 32 turnovers for the whole series.

The Knicks have failed to beat Detroit this season. The two teams have played twice this regular season and Detroit has won both matchups by a combined 69 points. The two Eastern contenders meet up for the final time this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

The Detroit Pistons grinded through the regular season and finished it as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern conference last regular season. They were able to rip two wins away from the No. 3 seed New York Knicks in the first round of last postseason.

Not only will Detroit likely have a top-three defense by the time the playoffs start in April, but they'll have two postseason wins and a minimum of two dominant regular season wins to their name. A lack of extended playoff experience shouldn't be held against this specific Detroit team.

Stephen A. Smith is still nervous

Smith is much more unapologetic and open about his Knicks fandom, but even he couldn't help but acknowledge what Detroit has done this season.

"I'm going to roll with Iman and the Knicks. But I'm nervous as hell about them damn Detroit Pistons. I'm nervous as hell, I ain't gonna lie...The Detroit Pistons are the real deal make no mistake about it."
Stephen A. Smith on ESPN's First Take

Stephen A. Smith put the Pistons ahead of the Knicks in his top-five NBA title contenders. ESPN contributor Vincent Goodwill also sat on the panel with the pair of analysts and chose to buy more stock in the Detroit Pistons. Goodwill believes the ceiling is higher for the Knicks, but that their floor is also very low.