Game Thread: New York Knicks @ Detroit Pistons 2/28/2021 8:00 pm [Game #35]

rady

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(17-17) -- (9-24)

VenueTVTIME
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MIMSG8:00 PM EST



Probable starters:

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Injury Report

New York KnicksDetroit Pistons
Mitchell Robinson - Right hand surgery (OUT)Frank Jackson - Illness (Day-2-day)
Elfrid Payton - Sore right hamstring (QUEST)Delon Wright - Strained groin/adductor (OUT)
Taj Gibson - Sprained right ankle (QUEST)Blake Griffin - Sidelined (OUT)
-Jahlil Okafor - Knee surgery recovery (OUT)
-Killian Haynes - Right hip injury (OUT)


Game Preview

The Detroit Pistons squandered an eight-point, fourth-quarter lead on Friday. But what truly bothered coach Dwane Casey was how his team began its game against the Sacramento Kings.

The Pistons had to rally from an early 17-point deficit in the 110-107 loss.

"I take responsibility for that, for the guys not being prepared, ready to come out and play because it's the league," he said. "Everybody's going to come in and try to put their foot on our throat."

Casey wants to see his team apply the pressure when it hosts the New York Knicks on Sunday.

Detroit will be playing its final home game prior to the All-Star break. The Pistons have a road game against Toronto in Tampa Bay on Tuesday before heading to New York for a rematch with the Knicks on Thursday.

Along with the poor start, the biggest issues that led to the Pistons' demise on Friday were rebounding and free throw shooting. Sacramento turned 14 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points. Detroit also missed 11 free throws, including a pair by Josh Jackson in the closing seconds that could have tied the game.

"We've got to do better on the defensive glass," forward Jerami Grant said. "We've got to box out."

Grant returned to the lineup with renewed energy after getting rested in Detroit's previous outing. He scored 30 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Both of the team's healthy point guards also played well. Dennis Smith Jr. had 17 points and six assists, and backup Saben Lee contributed eight points and four rebounds. The team's top floor leader, Delon Wright, is sidelined until the break with a groin injury.

"I thought Dennis did a heck of a job of running the show, getting into the paint and causing problems," Casey said. "Between those two, we've had good play out of our point guards."

This will be the first of three meetings with the Knicks. New York will be playing the second game of a back-to-back. It edged Indiana 110-107 on Saturday for its sixth victory in eight games.

Derrick Rose will be playing against the team that dealt him earlier this month. Rose had 17 points, 11 assists and four steals against the Pacers.

Rose has replaced injured Elfrid Payton in the lineup. His backcourt partner, RJ Barrett, supplied 24 points and seven rebounds as the Knicks reached the .500 mark.

They're currently tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

"It means a lot for us," Barrett said. "We're a hard-working group and we want to win. That's what we're here for. It definitely feels great. I've been a winner all my life, so this feels good."

The Knicks lost backup big man Taj Gibson to a sprained ankle, forcing starting center Nerlens Noel to play 41 minutes.

"We didn't start the game well. It was funky," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We had to work our way through it. The most important thing was just finding a way to win in the end. We had a lot of guys step up and make big plays.

"We just scratched it out," he added. "We'll have a new challenge tomorrow and we've got to be ready for that one."

--Field Level Media

(STATS / cbssports.com)
 

Broadway

All Star
So far not one of IQ's best starts...Burks and RJ are providing the lift

Knits and Toppin have to take advantage of their opportunities while EP and Taj are out
 

mafra

Legend
48-37 at the half. Last 3 NYK possessions before halftime ended in a turnover, and they couldn?t score the final 3 minutes.

Had they closed the second Q strong, NY would be up 25. Now, DET still believes they have a chance... and, if this is close down the stretch, our legs may fail us.

IQ officially made 94/100 FTs to begin his NBA career.
 
The alley-oop from RJ to Noel stretches the lead to 23 in the 3rd quarter. Pistons are bad and we look like a legitimate playoff contender out there, playing smothering defense and moving the ball well on offense.
 
Quickley getting hot in the 4th. Knicks lead by 24 with 6 and a half minutes to go.

Knicks on verge of going above 0.500. Imagine if this was a normal 82 game season, we?d be on pace to win 42 games with our arrow pointing up.
 
Mike Breen just said that this February is the first month in which the Knicks have had a winning record since 2017.
 

tiger0330

Legend
One game over .500 and 4th in the EC playoff race. I said getting DRose might
get us the 4th seed by solidifying the second unit but he does the job as the starting PG replacing EP.

Knicks now in a position to get home court advantage in the playoffs. I'd expect the Knicks to buttress their lineup for their playoff push.
 
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mafra

Legend
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The Knicks are 18-0 this season when RJ Barrett has a positive plus/minus
 

jimkcchief88

All Star
.500 record has Knicks fans dancing in the streets!!!! Hey maybe good times are back at MSG and I saw us 10# in a power ranking. No more Knicks-tank woot!!
 

Kiyaman

Legend
One game over .500 and 4th in the EC playoff race. I said getting DRose might
get us the 4th seed by solidifying the second unit but he does the job as the starting PG replacing EP.

Knicks now in a position to get home court advantage in the playoffs. I'd expect the Knicks to buttress their lineup for their playoff push.

Got me thinking of a up-tempo 2nd unit run-run lineup of Payton IQ Frank Knox, and Obi .. making Knox & Obi start playing like big-men in the paint hunting for rebounds and put-backs by blocking-out opponents in the paint. I'm tired of seeing RJ box-out opponents in the paint for a rebound better than Knox and Obi.
Our new coaching-staff did a great job this season on helping Randle, last year this time 80% of Knicks fans wanted Randle traded asap including myself.
I still see potential in Knox, plus Obi came with a lot of potential skills that need grooming to perform on a star level.
 
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