Pistons vs. Knicks preview: Pistons host new-look Knicks

After notching their first win of the season in Philadelphia against the 76ers on Wednesday, the Detroit Pistons return to action tonight at home against the New York Knicks.

Blessed with injury luck with both Joel Embiid and Paul George out for Philly, they might get another favorable draw with Karl-Anthony Towns’ status up in the air.

Could the Pistons win two-straight games for the first time since March?

Game Vitals

When: Friday, November 1 at 7 pm EST
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons +6.5

Analysis

Detroit and New York entered the year with entirely different outlooks.

The Pistons were just trying to find some respect, the Knicks were trying to go all-in on a championship run. It’s been a bit of a mixed bag for both teams. New York has won two of three after being smashed by the Boston Celtics on opening night.

Towns has been a huge reason for that. Traded to the Knicks from Minnesota this summer, Towns has been everything the Knicks could ask for offensively. He scored 44 points on Wednesday night and flashed the versatile, floor-spacing style that New York never really had with Isaiah Hartenstein last season.

He’s teamed with Jalen Brunson (22.8 points per game) to form one of the East’s best duos.

KAT is a game-time decision tonight with a wrist injury, and if he plays, it’ll be interesting to see how Detroit matches up. Jalen Duren’s efficiency around the basket on offense has been a plus, but otherwise he’s struggled to start the season.

He was thoroughly outplayed by reserve Isaiah Stewart in Philly and the defensive numbers behind the scenes on Stew paint a rosier picture. He’s been an incredible asset on that end and his impact is palpable as the Pistons had a hop in their step with him on the floor.

They showed some restraint and grit on defense, which was much needed.

I think it’s still a tough matchup for Stew, but if we see Duren starting the game against KAT tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised if the latter has 10-15 points in the first quarter. After all, he has averaged 24 points per game against Detroit since 2020.

The Knicks have a lot of big bodies on the wing to throw at Detroit. How guys like Cade Cunningham, Tobias Harris and Jaden Ivey deal with long defenders Mikel Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart.

And one other thing to look out for: Miles McBride. He’s a heck of a player off the bench and can rain down threes if he has a sliver of daylight. Pistons need to keep him in check.