The Knicks have an extra aggressive spread today against Detroit. Their dominance over the Pistons spanned from 2019 until this December where they had won sixteen matchups in a row. Now that has flipped with Detroit winning the last three. Yet, the Knicks are a team I believe can flip that postseason on switch. The experience factor is one-sided over a Pistons team that I expect to be overwhelmed in game one. Take the Knicks

The Pistons acquired Dennis Schroder in February to help compensate for Jaden Ivey's absence. Since then he's become an increasingly important player for them. Schroder averaged 18.9 minutes in February, 25.3 minutes in March and 32 minutes in April. He has cleared this prop total in 17 of his last 19 games. The Knicks give up the fifth-most points to opposing point guards. Schroder not only backs up Cade Cunningham, he plays alongside him. Even if his minutes dip slightly due to Cunningham getting a monster workload, I still like Schroder to score at least eight points.

The Pistons are 7-point dogs at the Knicks in Madison Square Garden for game one, even though the Pistons have won the last three meetings, including two of them at MSG. That's too much to give to a team that's loaded with confidence, knowing they can beat this Knicks team because they have been doing it. For the Pistons to win again, they will have to pressure the Knicks with a scoring blitz, which means Cade Cunningham shooting lights out for the Pistons. He's the key. The future is now for him in the NBA. In the game played on April 10th at Detroit, the Knicks shot 47% from the field and 32% from three-point range and still lost 115-106. I like the Pistons.

After a remarkable turnaround from a 14-68 record in 2024 to a 44-38 playoff team, the Pistons enter with momentum. Their underdog mentality and first playoff appearance in years could fuel a gritty performance in game one. The Pistons play with a "tenacious spirit" and aggressive defense that has disrupted New York's rhythm. They rank fifth in possessions, while the Knicks are 25th. With better defensive efficiency, rebounding, and turnover stats, I like the points in this spot.

Detroit was 3-1 against the Knicks this season and was the far better team over the final three months. The Pistons were also a comfortable road team with a 22-19 record and a plus-2.4 point differential. Jalen Brunson is back, yes. But Detroit's defense is superior to New York's and the Pistons are riding a lot of young-gun vibes into Game 1. Seven points is too many.

As this series goes on, the Knicks will look for adjustments to their pick-and-roll coverage, but in the feel-out Game 1 Karl-Anthony Towns is probably going to play a lot of drop coverage and Cade Cunningham has become a legit pull-up threat. He's going to feast early.

The Pistons went 24-15-2 ATS on the road this season. When the spread was +5.5 to +8.5 points, they went 10-6-1. The Pistons played the Knicks in New York two times this season and the Pistons won both games. In total, they went 3-1 against the Knicks. While I think the Knicks win this game at home to start off the series, I like the Pistons to keep things close enough to cover.

Caesar’s. OG Anunoby is coming off a terrific stretch of offensive basketball, albeit mainly without Jalen Brunson. With Brunson back in action, OG will be relegated back to more spot-up and secondary action. With Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns both active, Anunoby remained under this line in 16 of 26 games against teams in the top 15 defensively against spot up shooting. The Pistons ranked 7th in limiting spot up shooting, and allowed the seventh fewest assists per game during the regular season. It should function as a better spot for both Brunson and Towns.

This should be a shot-maker series. The Knicks had no answers for Cade Cunningham defensively and I'm not sure they will in this series. Getting Jalen Brunson back and rested at least means NY can match him shot for shot. The 4 regular season games between these teams all cleared this number (three did so with ease) and Pistons D started to falter in the final weeks and their youth and inexperienced coupled with that has me thinking this is an over series. DET allowed 119/G over the final 12 games (only ATL worse among playoff teams), allowing 119+ in 8 of those games. NYK defense has been far shakier in general this season and Pistons play at a hectic pace.