To say it with the words of long-time Pistons PA announcer John Mason: “Deeeeeetroit basketball”!
As annoying as that catchphrase is for everyone outside of Michigan these days, it doesn’t come close to the irritation the Knicks’ 0-3 start has gifted the orange and blue fanbase. And make no mistake about it: Even if their foes from the Motor City come into town shorthanded, they will be quite a handful for the Bockers. And above all, annoying.
Saying that about an opposing team might rub plenty of
them the wrong way, but not the Detroit Pistons, who are probably smiling ear to ear when they hear that characterization. They absolutely revere the fact that it’s anything but a cakewalk playing against them and that their vaunted defense can make many a star think twice about that profession he once chose many moons ago. Sure, it’s not fun to be carved up by jumbo-sized combo guard Cade Cunningham in the high pick-and-roll, but it might be even less enjoyable to have the likes of Ron Holland II, “Bball Paul” Reed or Javonte Green slamming into you on the baseline with bad intentions. As our Knickerbockers surely know from quite a few battles in the last couple of years.
Knicks face shorthanded Pistons team
If you think that the good guys catch a bit of a break with the Pistons missing mammoth center Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, and maybe even newly acquired sharpshooter Isaiah Joe, you might very well be right. But you might also end up like the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night. Yes, VJ Edgecombe and Joel Embiid weren’t in that episode of the soap opera “Bothering Love,” but LeBron and company surely thought that they could hang with a team giving minutes to someone named Tolu Smith. It turned out they couldn’t, as Detroit dominated the game from start to finish with physical, menacing defense, high intensity, and very good spacing on the offensive end.
As great as Ausar Thompson is as a defender, his outside shooting still makes Josh Hart on a bad week look like Louie Dampier out there. What the Pistons lose in defensive intensity gets picked up by the collective, yet on offense they actually gain a lot of punch with more opportunities for Duncan Robinson, Kevin Huerter, or Daniss Jenkins. Robinson has been especially hot to start the year, shooting over 53 percent from downtown on close to ten attempts. That presence makes it that much harder for opponents to guard against Cade Cunningham. As if that wasn’t hard enough already.
The Pistons superstar hasn’t really changed from previous years – lots of points, rebounds, and assists, yet also a lot of turnovers (16 in 3 games). One can have nightmares of him going up against the smaller New York backcourt defenders, and it would be warranted. The obvious solution is to put OG Anunoby on Cunningham, and I’m sure the Knicks coaches have thought of that already, as they have done in the past. The problem? Cunningham is elite in directing the pick-and-roll and works diligently to get premium defenders off his back so that he can attack smaller ones in the midrange area.
Where has all the Knicks magic gone?
In Thompson’s absence, the Knicks will see a lot of Daniss Jenkins next to Cunningham on Tuesday night. The backup guard has a knack for stepping up whenever he is called upon as a starter and did so against Philadelphia as well with 18 points. Other than that, the Pistons have gotten good play so far from John Collins (15.0 points, 7.7 rebounds), who has replaced former Pistons mainstay Tobias Harris at power forward this year. The versatile big is thriving in Detroit’s high-effort system, has a solid finishing touch, and provides decent switchability.
It won’t change the fact that Detroit isn’t a particularly big team without Duren in the middle or Thompson on the wing. They make up for it with physicality; they claw, fight, scrap. It surely seems like the last type of opponent New York would want to see right now, as they are clearly in a funk and would kill for some actual offensive rhythm. The champions might soon start asking every passerby near Madison Square Garden if they have seen the lost magic somewhere between 31st and 33rd Street that made their playoff run last year, well, magical. They themselves sure didn’t look like they could find it right now against Orlando.
But that’s the beauty of the NBA – you usually get a chance to write a different script pretty quickly. How does “Knicks beat last unbeaten team in the East for their first win” sound to you? A little long, but I’d take it. Surely sounds better than that John Mason chant.
Game Details
Who: New York Knicks (0-3) vs Detroit Pistons (3-0)
Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Time: 7 PM ET
Place: Madison Square Garden, New York
TV: NBC
Follow:@ptknicksblog andbsky
Injury Report
Jalen Duren (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (ankle) are out; Isaiah Joe (hip) looks to be a game-time decision. Jose Alvarado, with his own ankle issues, isn’t as lucky for the Knicks and will definitely miss the contest.
