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At #1 Pistons (32-7) on Friday, February 6th

The Pistons acquired Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, and a first-round pick swap with the Timberwolves. Huerter and Saric’s impact will be something to watch, but the Pistons (37-12) are the second best team in the NBA without them. On January 5th, the Pistons defeated the Knicks 121-90 in a thorough beating, forcing the Knicks to commit 20 turnovers and never allowing them to lead by more than one point. The Knicks were missing Josh Hart in that game, but now, Hart may have injured his ankle against the Wizards. He’s likely to sit out a few games as a precaution.

Not many players can stop Cade Cunningham when he wants to score, and he’s averaging almost ten assists per game this season. He’s a team-leading general on the court, and the Knicks will need to find a way to mitigate his impact. During Friday’s game, look to see who is assigned to defend Cunningham and whether the Knicks attempt to deny him the ball. If you don’t make an effort to disrupt Cade’s game, he will effortlessly drop 30 or more (he’s done it nine times this season).

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Deuce’s Lineup Synergy

The four Knicks lineups with the highest point differentials this season have one thing in common: Brunson and McBride. When on the court together, they match up with any other guard tandem offensively, but other teams may have stronger defenders. 

If Brunson is on the bench, Deuce is best paired with Kolek to split ball-handling duties. Mike Brown currently leans toward Jordan Clarkson first, who can be explosive from distance but has shot better in previous months.

• McBride and Clarkson in the back court: 31 minutes, -19.3 point differential

• McBride and Kolek in the back court: 30 minutes, +7.7 point differential

On the other hand, Landry Shamet is a spark plug when available. The top point differential from a lineup is +54.7, from Shamet, Mitch Robinson, OG Anunoby, Brunson, and McBride. It’s no surprise when you consider Robinson’s league-leading offensive rebounding, paired with the team’s volume perimeter shooting.

McBride is also in the top four Knicks lineups in assists per game, including the top two without Brunson.

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Shooting Hierarchy

Brunson is the first option scorer whenever he is on the floor, and it doesn’t matter who’s out there with him. He’s the seventh-best scorer in the NBA with 28 points per game, while having the lowest assists per game in the top 10. Brunson can score in many ways and from anywhere, but there is another player used to being the first option.

Towns played for Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota for 3 seasons and last year in New York. His designation as a second option means playing off-ball more often and facilitating before attempting to score. His main strength is setting screens on the perimeter and popping for uncontested three-pointers. He can drive to the rim, but the results of those drives are mixed; sometimes drawing a foul, often committing an offensive foul, or hitting an and-one. 

OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges at the wings are a reliable source of versatile scoring every game. They can score in transition, the perimeter, or while driving to the rim. With KAT and Josh Hart consistently finding them in the outlet pass, scoring runs can pop off.

Can you call Deuce McBride a sixth man? He has split starting duties with Hart, but remains the most accurate and reliable perimeter shooter. It just so happens that Brunson overrides him in many close-out scenarios, especially in the playoffs.

Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson fill out the bench scorers that Brown feels confident playing, but Shamet has dealt with injury, and Clarkson can be a streaky shooter. Mitch Robinson and Hart are both opportunistic scorers who can make an impact, but you can’t reliably plan to feed them given the amount of touches remaining.