NBA Game of the week: Knicks vs. Pistons

The two best records in the East collide on Friday, February 6, as the Knicks travel to Detroit to face the Pistons.

This will be the second of three meetings between the two teams this year. Just over a month earlier, Detroit won the first meeting convincingly, beating the Knicks 121-90 on their home floor.

This was a part of the most difficult stretch of the year for the Knicks, as it was their fourth loss of what was a five-game losing streak and an 11-game stretch where they went 2-9.

Since Jalen Brunson called a player-only meeting after the Knicks lost by 17 to Dallas to cap off the 2-9 stretch, New York has won seven in a row.

Most impressively in this win streak has been New York’s defense.

The catalyst of this win streak was a whopping 120-66 win over Brooklyn, as they became the first NBA team in a decade to hold their opponent below 67 points.

In the streak, they’ve only allowed their opponent to go over 100 points three times, and never over 110. The Knicks have made changes to their rotation, often leaving out players you might expect to see in crucial moments.

For example, it has not been unusual to see Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet closing close games over Mikal Bridges and Karl Anthony Towns.

What Detroit did so well against New York in the first matchup was contain Jalen Brunson’s supporting cast.

While it is important to note that Josh Hart was out, he wouldn’t have swung the 31-point gap by himself. Brunson scored 25 points on good efficiency, but he was the only Knicks starter who scored well.

Towns and OG Anunoby only made one shot each, and Bridges only had ten points. If you’re the Pistons, you can live with Brunson having to play hero-ball every time down the floor, because you have enough good defenders to tire him out come the end of the game.

This obviously cannot happen again if the Knicks want to win this game. Jaden Ivey gave the Knicks problems in the first matchup, but he was just traded for Kevin Huerter.

Huerter has a reputation as a great three-point shooter, but has been brutal from beyond the arc this year with his 31.4% clip.

Detroit is hoping that having him in a more competitive environment will get him back to his best. While it has not been confirmed, it seems likely he will be ready to suit up by Friday night.

With how the standings are shaping up, this game means a lot more to New York than it does to Detroit. The Pistons have a nice 5.5 game cushion atop the East, but New York is one bad stretch away from falling to the fourth seed.

It will be a close, low-scoring affair, similar to what we saw in the Playoff series between the two teams. When crunch time came in that series, Jalen Brunson was the man you wanted with the basketball.

Give me the Knicks to continue their winning ways with a 111-107 win.

Edison Pellumbi is a first-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact him, email him at ejp5889@psu.edu.