Knicks Could Try New Look vs. Pistons

The New York Knicks knew they had an ace up their sleeve all season long leading up to the playoffs.

The Knicks had a vision for how they wanted their rotation to look in the playoffs, and even though Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson didn't play together much during the regular season, that could change in the team's upcoming series against the Detroit Pistons.

ESPN insider Chris Herring believes that the Knicks could use Towns and Robinson together in more lineups in the playoffs.

"Aside from how Brunson looks now that he has returned, one of the most compelling things to watch will be how often Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson share the court," Herring writes.

"The Knicks haven't found their defensive groove yet, getting burned against a number of the league's best offenses with Towns defending the paint and Robinson alongside him -- similar to how the Wolves used Rudy Gobert with Towns. Towns and Robinson shared only 47 minutes of court time, outscoring opponents by 9.2 points per 100 possessions but surrendering a quite-high 118.8 points in that span. But if the big-man duo can figure things out, it would go a long way toward tightening up the team's screen-and-roll defense."

The size should be a challenge for the Pistons, who also have the opportunity to play double-big lineups. Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart have shared the court together before, and that could happen some more when the two teams match up in the playoffs. Stewart is a big man, but he is undersized at 6-8.

If the Knicks are able to exploit the Pistons' lack of size on the boards, they will have a chance to put this series to bed rather quickly against Detroit.