The NBA All-Star Game break ends on Thursday, February 19. Ten games are on the slate tomorrow night. In one of the most important matchups on the schedule, the Detroit Pistons travel to Manhattan to face the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Eastern Conference showdown streams on Prime Video at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Pistons are the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference and the NBA with a 40-13 record. They hold a comfortable 5.5 game lead over the second-place Boston Celtics in the East, while they are six games ahead of the Knicks in the conference standings. Detroit brings an 18-7 road record into the Garden. The team is 8-2 in its past 10 outings and riding a three-game winning streak.
The Knicks are in second place in the Atlantic Division, trailing the Celtics by 0.5 games. New York sports an overall record of 35-20 and is one of the better teams at home, posting a 21-7 mark at MSG. The Knicks are 8-2 in their past 10 contests. They have alternated wins and losses over their past five games, going 3-2 during that stretch.
These teams have played twice during the 2025-26 NBA season. Detroit has won both games, beating New York 121-90 in early January and then besting them 118-80 in early February. Both of those contests took place in Detroit.
| Teams |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Pistons | +142 | +140 | +140 |
| New York Knicks | -170 | -165 | -170 |
| Pistons +3.5 | -105 | -110 | -110 |
| Knicks -3.5 | -115 | -110 | -110 |
| Over 222.5 Points | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 222.5 Points | -110 | -110 | -110 |
The Detroit Pistons have the best record in the NBA, but they are not the favorite to win the NBA championship nor is the club the favorite to win the Eastern Conference. With the All-Star break behind them, the Pistons run to the playoffs gives the team the opportunity to establish themselves in both those categories. That journey starts tomorrow night in New York City. The Pistons have won 40 games before losing 20, which legendary coach Phil Jackson established as an unwritten rule of winning an NBA title. Forty of the past 44 champs have done that.
Detroit does an excellent job playing as a team. The club has outscored their opponents by 13.3 points per game in the restricted area, better than any team in the past seven seasons. They also have the largest differential in shot opportunities in the league (4.6), and have forced 17.2 turnovers per 100 possessions to lead the league.
They’ve averaged 4.6 more shot opportunities than their opponents, the league’s biggest differential.
The Pistons do not have a single player in the top 13 in scoring in the NBA. The team’s leading scorer, Cade Cunningham, ranks 14th at 25.3 points per game. However Cunningham is second in the NBA in assists (9.6), and the team’s leading rebounder, Jalen Duren ranks eighth in the league (10.4).
Duren is out of tomorrow’s game following a suspension for an altercation with the Charlotte Hornets last week. Isaiah Stewart, who is one the team’s best defenders, is also suspended for Thursday night’s contest in New York.
In the middle of January, the New York Knicks lost four straight. The team rebounded from that stretch of defeats with an eight-game winning streak. That run of victories ended on Friday, February 6, with a 118-80 blowout loss to the Pistons. Since then, the Knicks are 2-1 and coming off a 138-89 road win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The bad news for the Knicks headed into tomorrow’s game is that they are minus-69 in scoring against the Pistons this year. The good news is that Detroit will be without two of its better players tomorrow night, as Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart will be serving suspensions. The Knicks need to take advantage of the gaps in the Pistons’ lineup.
Jalen Brunson leads the team in scoring (27.0 points per game), while Karl-Anthony Edwards is first in rebounds (11.9). He is second in the NBA in that stat. Meanwhile, Brunson is also first on the Knicks in assists with 6.1. When it comes to team defense, New York ranks fifth in the league.
This is the third and final meeting between the Pistons and Knicks this season. New York must play better than it has in the first two games against its Eastern Conference foe, especially at home.
The Knicks are a much better home team than a road team and that will play a factor in Thursday’s game. Also contributing to the outcome will be the absences in the Detroit roster.
The betting pick is for the New York Knicks to beat the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, February 19.
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