Knicks vs. Pistons predictions, picks, odds for 2025 NBA playoff series
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns team up in the NBA playoffs for the first time when the New York Knicks face Cade Cunningham and the surprising Detroit Pistons in a first-round series.
One of the Eastern Conference's top contenders will have to fend off the biggest surprise of the NBA season to begin the 2025 playoffs.
The New York Knicks face the Detroit Pistons in a first-round series starting Saturday at Madison Square Garden, and experts believe they're in for a lengthy clash in the first postseason meeting between these two franchises since 1992.
The Knicks earned the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference by leaning on their starting five (Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns) more than anybody in the NBA. They had a rockier-than-expected final stretch of the regular season with Brunson out due to an ankle injury, but he's not expected to be hampered by it this postseason.
The Pistons orchestrated the sixth-best single-season turnaround in NBA history, improving their win total by 30 games under coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Detroit's 2021 No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham is blossoming around a nucleus featuring an improved core of veterans like sharpshooter Malik Beasley, and Detroit has been among the best teams in the league by record for several months now.
New York is nonetheless favored in this series and oddsmakers are already weighing in with who will win. Here's a look at some notable predictions and picks, as well as the latest odds, schedule and how to watch the Knicks face the Detroit Pistons to start the 2025 NBA playoffs:
Knicks vs. Pistons predictions: NBA playoffs series picks
Paste BN Sports: Everybody picks the Knicks
All four of Paste BN's NBA experts are picking the New York Knicks to beat the Detroit Pistons in their first-round series. NBA reporter Lorenzo Reyes predicts New York will win in five games, while reporters Jeff Zillgitt and James Williams, as well as Paste BN NBA editor Heather Tucker, each think the Knicks will move past Detroit in six games.
Shaun Powell, NBA.com: Knicks in seven games
"This will go the limit because the Pistons are a difficult matchup for the Knicks — and in the playoffs, it’s all about matchups. Young and hungry, Detroit seems rejuvenated under coach JB Bickerstaff and pointed in the right direction by Cunningham. That said, Karl-Anthony Towns will see his first playoff action with the Knicks and he’ll be anxious to make a statement as well."
Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports: Knicks in seven games
"New York does have the talent advantage at the higher end — especially if Towns can replicate the kinds of postseason performances he turned in for the Timberwolves in last spring’s opening rounds. Thibodeau, as dejected as he seemed with his team’s execution in the final days of the season, proved capable of pushing more of the right tactical buttons than Bickerstaff back in 2022."
Detroit Free Press: Knicks win
Both Detroit Free Press Pistons beat writer Omari Sankofa and columnist Shawn Windsor predict the Knicks to beat Detroit in the first round of the NBA playoffs. "The Pistons have proven they can beat this team," Sankofa writes. "But over the course of a long series, homecourt advantage and the perk of having two superstar scorers will ultimately tip the series in the Knicks' favor."
Knicks vs. Pistons: NBA playoffs series odds
The New York Knicks are favorites to defeat the Detroit Pistons in the NBA playoffs, per BetMGM odds (as of Friday night April 18):
- Series winner: Knicks (-425); Pistons (+325)
- Game 1 Spread: Knicks (-6.5)
- Game 1 Moneyline: Knicks (-285); Pistons (+230)
- Game 1 Over/Under: 220.5
Additionally, a five- or six-game series is seen as the most likely series length:
- Four games: +375
- Five games: +195
- Six games: +240
- Seven games: +270
Knicks vs. Pistons Game 1 odds
- Spread: Knicks (-6.5)
- Moneyline: Knicks (-285); Pistons (+225)
- Over/under: 220.5
Knicks vs. Pistons: NBA playoffs schedule, time, TV channel, live streaming
The Eastern Conference first-round series between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons begins with Game 1 on Saturday, April 19 at Madison Square Garden. ESPN, ABC and TNT are all scheduled to broadcast games during the series, which could last as long as two weeks with a potential Game 7 slated for Saturday, May 3.
Here's the updated schedule for Knicks vs. Pistons. All times listed are Eastern.
- Game 1: Pistons at Knicks | Saturday, April 19 | 6 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo
- Game 2: Pistons at Knicks | Monday, April 21 | 7:30 p.m. | TNT, Sling TV
- Game 3: Knicks at Pistons | Thursday, April 24 | 7 p.m. | TNT, Sling TV
- Game 4: Knicks at Pistons | Sunday, April 27 | 1 p.m. | ABC, Fubo
- Game 5: Pistons at Knicks | Tuesday, April 29, TBD | TBD*
- Game 6: Knicks at Pistons | Thursday, May 1, TBD | TBD*
- Game 7: Pistons at Knicks | Saturday, May 3, TBD | TBD*
*if necessary
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