The second round has been wild, so I forgive you for forgetting, but the first round of the NBA Playoffs was pretty cool too. One season in particular stood out to me. I can’t pretend I’m not biased, but that was a damn good series.
The New York Knicks were the more talented team by most measures, but the Detroit Pistons, like the Pistons historically do when they’re at their best, brought the game into the mud. There were multiple games that could have gone either way. They were physical to the point of maybe being a bit dirty. Awesome.
The Knicks won four games to two.
Less awesome as a Pistons fan, but still pretty amazing if I’m honest. I just wanted a single playoff win, and even that was greedy. I got two. Minus all the horrible stuff, 2025 has been a great year.
The first round matchup between the Knicks and Pistons was a tune-up
While the series was close, again, the Knicks were the better team. They deserved to win and did win.
This was not a minor feat. The Knicks had shown extreme difficulty against higher level teams through the regular season. You may have seen the fact floating around that the Knicks were 0-4 against the Celtics prior to the playoffs.
The Pistons were playing like a top ten team for most of the end of the year. This was the type of matchup the Knicks were having most trouble with. Hanging with the good teams and letting Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson take the team over the top.
They did that with the Pistons.
So far, they are doing that with the Celtics. The Knicks are up two to nothing over Boston taking both games on the road. The Knicks are hanging with Boston and squeaking over the edge. Now they’re coming back home with readiness, experience, and two games away from the Eastern Conference Finals.
Thanks, Pistons! You did that! The Knicks would have been swept already if they didn’t play the Pistons in round one. It would have been two 60-point losses and a mid-series forfeit in any other case. If you think about it, you know it’s true.