Knicks-Pistons Is Officially A Series After New York Drops Game 2 At The Garden

I have to admit that I thought I would be angrier when I started writing this blog. But I still have no clue how the Knicks were even in that game at the end, so my brain is too confused to be smashing the ANGRY button like that big red bitch from Inside Out.

Don't get it twisted, seeing Mikal Bridges' permanent Jokeresque smile after missing every big open shot can make my blood boil. But it's hard to be mad your team lost when they didn't seem to want it as bad as the other team. I know that sounds like typical old man talk, but the Knicks were throwing around the ball like it was game two of a back-to-back in mid-December as they watched the Pistons always seemingly find themselves on the ground with the loose balls since they played like a desperate team while the Knicks played like a team that's the heavy favorite with a 1-0 series lead.

Now the series shifts to Detroit as the Pistons took home court back and it's the same old problems for the Knicks. Too much Brunson Ball, KAT disappearing on the court despite being the tallest person on it, and just a total lack of cohesion at best or effort at worst that can no longer be chalked up to a bunch of new faces getting to know each other after 83 games. Not running the 21-0 Run play was also a massive miss by Thibs.

Meanwhile Cade Cunningham did everything we thought he could do, Dennis Schroder has become the prototypical pain in the ass playoff villain for Knicks fans to hate, and the Pistons go back home with a win after outplaying the Knicks or at least playing them even for seemingly every quarter of the series outside of the fourths. Tonight the Pistons did just enough in nut cutting time to hold the lead late (hat tip to Bridges for that) and now have control of the series before going home to what's going to be a zoo of a crowd.

All season Knicks fans have been looking for passion from their players and if they don't show it soon, it's gonna get reeeeeeally interesting for a team that was a -400 favorite before the playoffs begin. Part of me wishes Game 3 was tomorrow just so they could get back out there, but part of me also knows Thibs will be locked in a dungeon watching game film and making adjustments for the next 60 hours. Whether they work or if they players execute remains to be seen. But it's hard to be confident with the way this series has looked outside that glorious 21-0 run.