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Last night the Pistons (23-29) put an absolute thumping on the best in the West, Denver Nuggets. Now they gotta tap into that venom once again to bring the same brutish energy tonight against the Knicks (10-42). Detroit is hanging onto the Miami Heat’s 8th-seed-tzitzit. This is not a game they can lose. Second in as many nights be damned.
New York on the other hand is back to square one, building a dampened castle with their elbows in the sand, waiting for the tide to wash over their creation. Thirteen consecutive losses, it’s a real drought. Some players will enter the brush above the coastline scavenging for broken bunnies, occasionally spearing some tropical fowl. It’s no vacation, I guarantee you.
Projected Starters
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That’s the Pistons for ya. Two traditional bigs and a fully unloaded backcourt/wing situation. They have indicated that they will not be a buyer leading into the deadline, but my goodness could this team use some punch. Reggie Bullock can shoot it, but he’s not exactly the type of guy that can soak up usage. Do the Knicks have a chance here?
Key Matchup
Well it should be Luke Kornet versus Andre Drummond. I could totally see Drummond refusing to close out to the Knick big man, despite the fact that he is connecting on 42% of his threes. Then the lol Knicks made their lol trade and bring lol Kevin Durant’s lol groomsman, lol DeAndre Jordan to the lol starting center spot.
Maybe they just beat the crap out of one another and draw a bunch of fouls and get limited minutes. Then Kornet gets significant burn with the even slower Zaza Pachulia lumbering around. Blake Griffin eventually gets the assignment but then Zaza is not keeping up with the speedier Noah Vonleh. What I’m trying to say is- Whatever goes on in the front court, will be the key.
Prediction
Detroit comes out swinging. They’re feeling good still from last night’s win. They see an easy win to grab, they go for it early. At half time they start making dinner plans and acting like they have the Knicks figured out. David Fizdale makes the critical adjustment to bring Luke Kornet in to start the half and Dennis Smith starts slanging those dimes all around the hardwood. Detroit gets down double digits, and is just like, F it, we see them again on Friday.
Knicks by 14.