Traditional matchups don’t tell the story. If you try to go point guard versus point guard, just know something has gone wrong if Jalen Brunson is guarding Cade Cunningham. That’s also the case if Karl-Anthony Towns is isolated on a single Detroit center. So we explore the bigger-picture scenarios to watch in this opening-round playoff series.
CUNNINGHAM VERSUS WAVES OF DEFENDERS
The Pistons’ hopes start and end with Cunningham, the one star who rises above the lunch-pail crowd around him. The Knicks used an assortment of defenders to guard him during the regular season and figure to again, starting with Mikal Bridges. But if stopping Cunningham is the key, figure at some point the task falls to the Knicks’ best defender, OG Anunoby.
“When you have a great player like [Cunningham], I don’t think you give him a steady diet of anything,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You have to give him different looks, there’s gonna be different matchups on him, but we understand we have to guard him with our team.”
As dangerous as Cunningham is, demonstrated by his 30.8 points and 8.3 assists per game against the Knicks this season, they have enough options to slow him down, especially with a week to prepare and a series to learn game by game.
BRUNSON 2025 VERSUS BRUNSON 2024
Brunson put forth one of the most impressive postseason runs last year, becoming the fourth player in NBA history (along with Jerry West, Bernard King and Michael Jordan) to score at least 40 points in four straight games. He also had 39 in the game before that stretch and was the first player in postseason history with four straight games of at least 40 points and five assists.
So how do you live up to that now when expectations are raised? With Towns and Bridges in the mix, the Knicks hope he won’t have to. He might not have to, but the Knicks know he can.
“What does the team need from you?” Thibodeau said. “You operate from that standpoint, which he has done.”
KNICKS CENTERS VERSUS PISTONS CENTERS
As much as the Pistons rely on Cunningham, their physical reputation comes from the style of Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. The push-it-to-the-borderline play (which sometimes goes over the line) may echo what the Knicks did in previous years, including against the last team that the Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff coached, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Towns may be the biggest challenge for the Detroit big men, but Mitchell Robinson is healthy and dominated the boards against Cleveland two years ago, averaging 9.8 rebounds in the Knicks’ 4-1 first-round series win over the Cavs.
JOSH HART VERSUS OPEN SPACE
With the Knicks’ offense based around Brunson and Towns, teams often have given Hart the freedom to fire away if he dares. In the first round of the playoffs last year against Philadelphia, Hart took that challenge and delivered, not only doubling his regular-season attempts from beyond the arc but making some in the biggest moments.
The Pistons could use a wing on Towns and hide a big on Hart, tempting him to shoot again. But Hart has managed to counter this, not only with his shooting — which he said he’s confident will come — but not having a body on him on the perimeter frees him up for his runs at the offensive boards.
OFF THE BENCH
Depth has been an issue for the Knicks this season, but with health finally taking hold and minutes limited for reserves, the Knicks should have plenty in Robinson, Deuce McBride and Landry Shamet. Stewart, Malik Beasley, Ron Holland and Dennis Schroder have provided punch off the bench for the Pistons, with Beasley’s three-point shooting a dangerous weapon. This should be an edge for Detroit if the Knicks are forced to rely on reserves.
THE INTANGIBLES
Experience favors the Knicks, even if the veteran additions have helped the Pistons this year with the leadership of Beasley, Long Island’s Tobias Harris and former Knick Tim Hardaway Jr. The Knicks have been through the postseason wars together, with much of the team back for another run. And they’ve been led through it by Thibodeau while Bickerstaff is on his first foray with the Pistons. Add in home-court advantage at Madison Square Garden and Knicks fans sneaking their way into Little Caesars Arena, and the Knicks own all of the intangibles.
WRITERS’ PREDICTIONS
STEVE POPPER
Knicks in 5: The simplest way to put this is that the Knicks used to be what the Pistons are now — an overachieving group of workers surrounding a star. But they saw it wasn’t enough and went all-in on a talent upgrade. Now the Knicks have the experience with the addition of talent, along with a week to rest and prepare for Cunningham. With home court, the Knicks could put this away quickly.
BARBARA BARKER
Knicks in 6: The Pistons are young, athletic and hungry. They also have a number of first-timers in the playoffs, including Cunningham, their best player, who averaged 30.8 points in four games against the Knicks this season. But Cunningham has never experienced anything like a playoff game in front of a hostile crowd at Madison Square Garden, and you can count on the Knicks swarming him every time he touches the ball. The Pistons are a team on the ascent but aren’t there yet.
NEIL BEST
Pistons in 6: These Knicks have plenty of talent and earned their No. 3 seed in the East, but they lack depth, defensive grit and perhaps even chemistry. They also face infinitely more pressure to win this series than the young, playing-with-house-money Pistons. This is a volatile matchup that could well blow up in the Knicks’ faces.
