Detroit has been the Eastern Conference’s lone unbeaten team, and Tuesday’s matchup with the New York Knicks comes with a sharp contrast in early-season form. The Pistons are 3-0 after a 106-93 win over the star-heavy Philadelphia 76ers, while the Knicks have stumbled to 0-3 to open the year.
That slow start is especially jarring for New York coming off a championship run. No defending champion has dropped its first three games since the 2011-12 Dallas Mavericks, and the Knicks now have to dig out of that hole against a Pistons team that has been locked in defensively and efficient enough on offense to keep rolling.
The biggest issue for New York has been the lack of production from the same starting group that powered last spring’s title. The Knicks averaged 115.8 points per game in the playoffs, but through three games this season they are down to 101.7 points per game, the worst offense in the league.
Jalen Brunson has been at the center of everything, but the burden has been heavy and the results have not been there. He’s shooting 39% from the field, 27% from three and 70% at the line, while putting up 22.7 points on 21.3 shot attempts per game.
The shots are still coming from familiar places for Brunson. He’s getting plenty of work in the mid-range and around the floater zone in the paint, but the makes haven’t followed yet as he and the rest of the team work their way back into rhythm.
He has gone 13-30 from the paint and is hitting just 43% in point-blank range. As soon as he finds his form, the rest of the offense should start to open up with him.
Karl-Anthony Towns has largely been solid, though foul trouble keeps following him around. OG Anunoby has not been nearly as efficient from the floor and has also racked up fouls. Mikal Bridges, meanwhile, has struggled more than anyone in the starting five, scoring 10 points in 90 minutes across the first three games and missing all 10 of his three-point tries.
Detroit, though, is not likely to offer much breathing room. The Pistons have opened the season with three straight wins over East teams with playoff hopes and have carried over the defensive backbone that shaped their play last season. At the same time, the offense has climbed into the top ten, with Cade Cunningham doing a bit of everything and the supporting cast delivering real punch.
Duncan Robinson has been scorching, averaging 19.7 points while knocking down 54% of his threes. John Collins has also slid into the mix smoothly, putting up 15.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Even with Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson seeing limited minutes, Detroit has still looked dominant.
The Pistons also know they handled this matchup well a year ago, sweeping the three-game regular-season series against New York by a combined 84 points. That kind of control should keep Detroit motivated as it faces a Knicks team trying to figure things out.
Detroit Pistons starting lineup: Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, John Collins, Paul Reed
New York Knicks starting lineup: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns
In Other News...
Knicks May Have Pulled Off Another Quiet Draft-Night Win
The Knicks used the 30th pick on Sergio de Larrea, then quickly turned that selection into a different kind of asset by sending his rights to the Mavericks for two future second-round picks. It was the sort of maneuver that fits neatly with how New York has tried to work around its salary cap limitations, squeezing value wherever it can find it instead of simply standing pat on draft night.
De Larrea was already playing professionally in Spain, and soon after the draft he helped Valencia win the Liga ACB title, adding another layer to a player the Knicks never intended to keep. New York also knew Dallas had been linked to him and had the front office ties to make the deal work, which is why this looked less like a pass on a prospect and more like a calculated bet on information and timing. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Just Got Pulled Into A Wild Karl-Anthony Towns Trade Idea
The Knicks have been pulled into an early-season trade idea that already feels bigger than the standings around it. Miami opened with a 0-4 start after reshaping its roster in a blockbuster deal with Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, and the rough beginning has only fueled chatter about how the new pieces fit with Bam Adebayo still anchoring the frontcourt.
What makes the speculation more interesting from New Yorks side is the path some are floating to get there: a swap centered on Adebayo and Tim Hardaway Jr. for Karl-Anthony Towns. Nothing has been confirmed by Miami, and the Heat could easily give the group more time to settle in, but the mere fact the Knicks are part of this kind of conversation says a lot about how quickly the league starts chasing the next big idea when a new roster stumbles out of the gate. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Already Have A Real Andre Drummond Debate On Their Hands
Andre Drummonds first few weeks as the Knicks backup center have already turned into a small but real rotation conversation. He opened the 2026-27 season with a double-double, then saw his minutes dip in the next games as Mike Brown adjusted the lineup, a familiar kind of early-season sorting-out process for a team still figuring out how it wants to use its depth. Even so, Brown has made clear Drummond remains in the backup mix, which matters for a bench frontcourt that needs a dependable presence when the starters sit.
Drummond gave the Knicks a reminder of why that role is worth monitoring in the win over Detroit, when he scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 14 minutes. It was a cleaner, more productive showing than some of his earlier outings, and it gave New York a useful glimpse of what he can offer when the minutes are there. The larger question now is whether that performance is the start of a steadier climb back into a bigger share of the center rotation. [Read more 🡒]