Game Day Preview: Unbeaten Pistons at Knicks, and It's Time to Stop the Slide

I didn't think I'd be typing "0-3" about the defending champs in late October, but here we are, and the 3-0 Detroit Pistons walk into Madison Square Garden tonight at 8:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM CT. Detroit will be without Jalen Duren (right hamstring strain), per the NBA's official injury report. ESPN lists NBC as the national broadcast; for streaming or local options, check your listings. Win this one and the sky stops falling. Lose it and, well, I'd rather not finish that sentence.

Detroit is doing everything we aren't

The Pistons beat Boston 121-113 at home, then won 128-111 in Miami and 106-93 in Philly. Per ESPN, they're scoring 118.3 a game on 47% shooting and 42% from three while pulling down 52 rebounds a night. Cade Cunningham runs all of it at 21.3 points and 8.0 assists, and Duncan Robinson has gone 5-of-9 from deep in two of those three games, per the ESPN box scores. That's the guy I'll be screaming at us to stay attached to.

The Knicks? 101.7 points a game on 41% shooting and 32% from three, per ESPN. That's the whole slow start in two numbers.

Cat at the five, and the balance we keep missing

With Duren out, Paul Reed figures to carry more of the load inside. He's Detroit's leading rebounder at 8.3 a game and put up 19 and 11 in Miami, per ESPN. This is exactly where I want the five-out look with Cat at center. Towns is giving us 21.0 points and 12.0 boards a game. Drag Reed out to the arc, let Brunson and OG attack the open floor behind him, and make Detroit defend the rim without Duren.

Then there's my favorite soapbox. Look at the box scores: 44 paint points but only 11 threes in the Philly loss, 16 threes but just 30 in the paint in Boston, then 52 in the paint against Orlando while going 9-of-38 from deep. Three games, three different ways to be lopsided. We haven't had the paint and the three-ball working on the same night yet, and that's the night this team looks like a champion again.

Brunson is carrying the scoring at 22.7 a game, but he's 25-of-64 from the field through three games, per the ESPN box scores. He'll find it; he always does. I'd just love some help, and Miles McBride's 6-of-8 from three in Boston showed the bench has it in them.

Here's the NBA's official injury report as of 12:00 PM ET:

• Pistons: Jalen Duren (right hamstring strain) is out. Ausar Thompson (right ankle sprain) and Isaiah Joe (right hip contusion) are questionable. Two-way players Elijah Harkless and Isaac Jones are questionable, and Ugonna Onyenso is out (G League two-way).
• Knicks: Jose Alvarado (left ankle sprain) is out.

Statuses can change before tip. Still processing Sunday's loss to Orlando? The latest Morning After is here: https://knicks365.com/blog/knicks-magic-recap-wagner-fourth-quarter-0-3-start

And with a back-to-back in Chicago tomorrow night, per ESPN's schedule, there's nothing to save. Win the glass, find the balance, make Cade work for every inch. Stop the slide.