Opponent Scouting: New York Knicks (13-17)
Tonight at 7:30pm EST the Detroit Pistons are on the road to face the Knicks of New York. The Pistons are coming off of a win over the Miami Heat while the Knicks lost to the Celtics last time out.
The Them:
The Knicks come into tonight with the 19th ranked offensive efficiency and the 23rd defensive efficiency. As of now this game is being played, however, the Knicks have a ton of guys in health and safety. As of last check: RJ Barrett, Quientin Grimes, Kevin Knox, Miles McBride, Immanuel Quickley, and Obi Toppin are all in the health and safety protocols. Derrick Rose didn’t play the last game although I think that was just a rest thing.
Julius Randle is putting up similar counting stats to last season, 20/10/5 but the efficiency has dropped considerably and so has the magic around his breakout last season. Evan Fournier isn’t great but he does a bit of everything as an offensive player, I’m sure that the Knicks would like more counting production from him but he is a nice piece still. Alec Burks has become a really good shooter in his second act, Kemba Walker is a shell of himself and is only back into the rotation because he didn’t catch COVID. Nerlens Noel jumps high, so does Mitchell Robinson. Taj GIbson is old but still a tough defender with some ability to score inside although he’s another guy who’s only really playing because of COVID I believe.
The Knicks still have a couple of horses to do stuff but the depth is awful with so many guys out. I have no clue what to even make of the situation. I waited so long to preview this because I kept assuming they were going to just postpone the game.
Matchups to watch:
Saddiq Bey vs. Headband powers: Bey has killed it since he donned the headband/Jerami Grant went out. Perhaps the absence of Grant, and the extra flow it provided the offense, was what he needed to get jump-started. If he can take this from a nice couple of games to a sustained stretch of good play it would make everyone feel much better about this season even if the losses keep piling up.
Pistons vs. Julius Randle: Without Jerami Grant the Pistons don’t seem to have a great defensive option for the brutalizing Randle. It will be a challenge to keep him from getting to his spots. The good news is that with all the guys out, the Pistons know that the Knicks have few other options to run through.
Stewart vs. Athletes: Seems to go great or really bad with little in between for Stewart when he goes against hyper-athletic centers like Noel and Robinson. He obviously can’t jump with them but sometimes his sheer physicality throws them off their game. The Pistons need that to work tonight.
Hamidou vs. Doing fun things: Been a while since I flipped on a player as quickly as I have on Diallo. He’s playing such a joyful style lately and a bright light in dark places.
So in conclusion…
Run for the hills if:
Julius Randle is the bowling ball and the Pistons are pins. There are also bumpers on the alley.
Stewart is getting dunked on constantly.
A Pistons player starts coughing on the bench.
Wink knowingly at your friends if:
Noel and Robinson keep giving the “what is your deal?” look to Stewart.
Saddiq Bey is fully unlocked.
The Knicks bench gets throttled by the Pistons.
Opportunities for me to look stupid:
The Knicks look really tired despite having 2 days off.
Saddiq Bey cools off a bit but still plays well.
Stewart throws off the Knick centers.
Pistons 105 - Knicks 92.