Detroit Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart has been ruled out of Game 4, the team revealed before their playoff matinee against the New York Knicks April 27.

Stewart missed the Pistons’ final two games of the season, and Games 2 and 3 with right knee inflammation. The fifth-year forward is the backbone of the Pistons’ defense, and tried playing through the injury in Game 1 on April 19 before subbing out of the game for good early in the fourth quarter.

Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Stewart is “day-to-day” going forward. Game 4 will be played at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit at 1 p.m., and the Pistons will try to tie the series after falling in Game 3 at home April 24.

HELLO WORLD: Dennis Schröder proving why he was — and still is — a priority for Pistons

“I think we all felt it,” Bickerstaff said of Stewart after the team’s Game 1 film session Sunday. “He was phenomenal last night. His effort, how he protected the rim, the energy that he brought, how his teammates fed off of his injury was huge.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

“When he’s not on the floor for us, we all have to bring that. We have to find a way because we can’t just lean on him all the time or expect it to just be him. We have to play with that same ferociousness and that effort that he does.” 

HEY KNICKS: Maybe if Jalen Brunson stops flopping he’ll get calls like Cade

Isaiah Stewart backup plan for Pistons is Paul Reed

Paul Reed played 16 minutes in Game 3 as the backup center behind Jalen Duren. “BBall Paul” finished with four points and eight rebounds.

Reed, 6 feet 9 and 220 pounds, played in 45 games this season as the Pistons third center, averaging 9.7 minutes per game and scoring 4.1 points on just 50.7% shooting.

Reed, 25, was the 58th overall pick out of DePaul by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2020 draft. He played in 32 playoff games over four seasons with the Sixers.

Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify).

Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.

Follow the Detroit Free Press on Instagram (@detroitfreepress), TikTok (@detroitfreepress), YouTube (@DetroitFreePress), X (@freep), and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook (@detroitfreepress).