Why Knicks owe Pistons gratitude for playoff success

In the regular season, the Knicks were a finesse team that relied more on offense than defense, an unusual assessment of a Tom Thibodeau-led team. 

Much of that was due to New York losing Julius Randle, Isaiah Hartenstein and Donte DiVincenzo in the offseason, and not having Mitchell Robinson through two-thirds of the season. 

The Knicks had lost their defensive grit and became too comfortable in 130-128-type shootouts. They needed someone to push them to their physical limits and wake them up. The youthful Pistons, deemed by some as Bad Boy Pistons 3.0, were precisely what the doctor ordered. 

In the first round, the Knicks played four consecutive games decided by three or fewer points. They were forced to dig deep and match the Pistons' physicality, the trial by fire that prepared them for the Celtics.

Outhustling the Celtics

Thibodeau's men have been the more physical and dogged unit through the first two games of the Knicks-Celtics series. They've notched 10 more steals than the C's (31-21), causing the defending champions to commit 31 turnovers, including eight in the fourth quarter and OT. 

According to ESPN Research, the Knicks are the first team since the 1980-81 Celtics to play six consecutive games decided by three or fewer points, including the first two nail-biters in Boston. Analyst Monica McNutt believes the Knicks are playing a physical brand of defense, specifically, no longer staying in drop coverage due to the dogfight they endured against the Pistons.  

"If the Knicks were not tested the way they were by the Pistons, I'm not sure this group is prepared to show up this way," McNutt told ESPN's "Get Up" of their 2-0 lead over the Celtics.

New York's defense is clicking on all cylinders in the playoffs, holding teams to 103.9 points per 100 possessions — a stark contrast to the regular season when it ranked a mediocre 13th in the league.