Having brought on Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, the Knicks will enter the 2025 postseason with a much different look than what they had a year ago, when the team had to fight through injuries and ultimately fell in seven games to the Pacers in the conference semis.
That Indiana team was fast-paced and high-scoring. The Knicks' foe this time around, at least in the first round, will have a much different look, too. New York opens with the Detroit Pistons, who had a massive turnaround from 14 to 44 wins this year thanks in large part to a physical, grinding style of basketball.
Detroit is No. 10 in the NBA in defensive efficiency, with a rating of 112.5, and features physical big men Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren. The Pistons won their last three games against the Knicks.
Center Mitchell Robinson is prepared for the physicality--and more. He said he expects things to get "dirty."
"It’s going to be a dirty series,” Robinson said this week. “We’re going to get out there and fight. That’s the biggest part about it. Physicality with Detroit and us. It’s something we just have to bring.”
Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff, who is in his first year with the team, told Sirius XM Radio that he, too, expects there to be dust-ups, but hopes his young team keeps its cool.
“It’s important for us to be physical but not emotional,” Bickerstaff said. “I think that’s the difference. We’re going to be physical. There’s gonna be some dust-ups, there’s gonna be some interactions. That’s just the way it is when we show up in the building. But we can’t allow the emotion to get the best of us where for three minutes we’re outside of ourselves, now we allow them to go on an 8-0 run.
"I think it’s very important for us to not change who we are, but at the same time just make sure that we keep our emotions intact and go out and be able to play and execute through all the physicality.”
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