Detroit Pistons vs New York Knicks Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Opening Week

Detroit is 3-0 with wins at Miami and Philadelphia already, and Cade Cunningham runs everything for the Pistons. New York is 0-3 and still favored at home, in a building that has watched its team lose three straight to open the season. Whether Detroit's start is real enough to hold up at the Garden is what tonight answers.

The Matchup

Detroit's start is not a soft-schedule mirage. The Pistons beat Boston 121-113 at home, won 128-111 at Miami, then won 106-93 at Philadelphia on Sunday. They are 3-0, scoring 118.3 points per game and allowing 105.7, and Cunningham is the engine.

He leads Detroit at 21.3 points and 8.0 assists per game, and he has controlled the pace in all three wins. Last season Detroit went 60-22, the best record in the East, so a strong October is not new territory for this group. Three games into a new season, last season still says plenty, and it says Detroit is built to win games like this.

New York is 0-3, and the offense is the problem. The Knicks have lost to Philadelphia, at Boston by 4, and to Orlando, scoring 101.7 points per game while allowing 108.0. Jalen Brunson leads New York at 22.7 points per game, but his assists are down at 3.7 per game, a sign of how little movement the Knicks are getting around him.

Karl-Anthony Towns gives them a second star and leads the team at 12.0 rebounds per game. New York went 53-29 last season, so the talent for a turnaround is in the room. It has not shown up yet.

Jalen Duren is out tonight with a strained right hamstring, with a return expected around November 9. He is Detroit's starting center, and Paul Reed, who leads the Pistons at 8.3 rebounds per game, takes on a bigger load inside. Ausar Thompson is day-to-day tonight with a sprained right ankle.

Keep an eye on whether Thompson plays before placing a bet. Isaiah Joe is also day-to-day with a bruised hip. New York is without Jose Alvarado, who is out with a sprained left ankle and a return expected around October 28. DraftKings makes New York a 4.5-point favorite, with a total of 219.5.

Key Factors

Detroit's defense has traveled in a way New York's offense has not. The Pistons held Philadelphia to 93 points on Sunday, and their three opponents have averaged 105.7 points. New York's half-court offense stalls when Brunson sits or gets trapped, and Detroit has the length on the wing, Thompson included if he plays, to make Brunson work for every catch. A Knicks team scoring 101.7 points per game has to manufacture points against the best defense it has faced.

Towns against a Detroit front line without Duren is New York's clearest path. Towns is a strong offensive rebounder, and second chances are how a struggling offense steals easy points. If Reed gets in foul trouble, Detroit has no good answer for Towns inside, and the Garden crowd gets into a game New York badly needs. That is how this pick loses, and it is a live possibility for four quarters.

The scoring environment favors a grind. Detroit's defensive games and New York's offensive struggles both point below the posted total of 219.5, and close, low-scoring games are kind to the team getting points. Detroit also does not need Brunson to have an off night. It needs its own offense, which has scored 106 or more in every game, to keep doing what it has done all week.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.