As the Knicks patiently await their foe for the Eastern Conference Finals, the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers continue to battle in the second round. Who should New York be rooting for?
When you’re a true contender, you don’t worry about specific matchups as much as overall preparedness for whatever may face you in a postseason run. But both potential rivals offer a unique set of challenges and advantages, so it’s worth exploring to see which might be the better matchup for the Knicks...
Pistons
The good news for the Knicks is they beat this very team, almost down to the player, last season in the first round. It wasn’t an easy series, with a combined winning margin of eight points that took six games and a slew of clutch playmaking to advance.
The Pistons haven’t changed much save for a few new complementary pieces and Isaiah Stewart being available. They’re still coming with the rough-and-tumble, grind you down and beat you up style, and are largely reliant on Cade Cunningham's stardom to generate enough offense.
The Knicks have changed, though, coming in with a deeper team of more trustworthy options, and an offense that’s been scorching through the playoffs. New York had an offensive rating of 111 against Detroit last season, and have been converting at 124.8 this postseason, albeit against lower-level defenses.
They’ll have to keep up that level of output to really separate from Detroit. Transition will be their easiest point of attack, so they should continually push the pace like they have been, especially off misses.
In the halfcourt, expect more Karl-Anthony Towns initiation, especially with the stingy Ausar Thompson blanketing Jalen Brunsonand the likelihood of Jalen Duren guarding him on the perimeter -- spacing out their lead shot-blocker. The split actions the Knicks abused the Hawks and 76ers with won’t create as many easy chances against a sharper, more physical defense like Detroit’s, so they’ll have to be ready on their second and third actions.
Defensively, things are simpler. Ignore Thompson when he’s on the court, and don’t let Cunningham get going.
Last year it was OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges who worked to slow Cunningham down, to mixed success. Expect those two to take on the assignment once again.
Cavaliers
The Cavs are another former playoff foe of the Knicks, this time dating way back to 2023. They’ve since flipped Darius Garland for James Harden, one last all-in play.
New York has some huge advantages in this potential matchup.
Cleveland has no clear answer for Brunson, is routinely dominated on the interior by the Knicks bigs, and had a massive midseason trade mess with some of their cohesion.
Harden and Donovan Mitchell will be sought out and picked on relentlessly by Brunson, who will otherwise primarily be defended by Dean Wade or Jalen Tyson. They don’t have great options other than throwing aggressive coverages to get the ball out of his hands, but he and his teammates will be prepared to take advantage -- especially when a rotation comes down to one of those star guards again.
Cleveland has been one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the postseason, though they are making it up with extra possessions on the other end. Expect New York to lean on their big lineups, including Towns and Mitchell Robinson more in this matchup to really dominate the glass.
The Cavs will test the Knicks with their raw talent offensively. If Mitchell and/or Harden are just going off, there’s not much you can do about it. They’ll also be actively hunting Brunson, who needs to keep up his level of defensive intensity.
Mitchell and Harden are also high-level playmakers, so just throwing traps and hedges their way won’t be the easy solution. Towns will have to keep playing the best drop coverage of his life, and be ready to switch onto these guys if he has to.
The Cavaliers' bench is also solid, leaving New York without a clear advantage there. This would likely shape up to be a big Brunson-or-bust series.
Verdict
Does the devil you know beat the devil you don’t? Or is banking on another postseason flameout from Cleveland's star guards burdened with that reputation the hope?
Ultimately, if the Knicks want to win a championship, they’ll have to be ready for whichever team meets them next round.