Knicks vs. Pistons Prediction and Odds: Who Will Take the All-Important Series Lead

The New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons will play Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Playoffs series in Detroit on Thursday.

The Pistons knotted the series at one apiece on Monday, giving them their first playoff win since 2008. They still only have a 33.3 percent implied chance to win the series, although those odds are much better than they were when the series began.

The Knicks have been outplayed for at least six, if not seven, quarters of this series and trailed entering the fourth quarter in both games. They have a clear talent advantage, but they haven’t gotten the best out of their star players and aren’t giving their bench enough minutes to make a noticeable impact.

Here, I will break down the Knicks vs. Pistons betting odds and share my favorite pick for Game 3.

For more betting insights, check out our daily NBA Player Props and Best Bets.

Knicks vs. Pistons Betting Odds for Thursday, April 24

The Knicks are 41-42-1 (49.4 percent) against the spread, 19-22 (46.3 percent) ATS on the road, and 35-31-1 (53 percent) ATS as a favorite.

The Pistons are 43-38-3 (53.1 percent) ATS, 19-21-1 (47.5 percent) ATS at home, and 24-19-3 (55.8 percent) ATS as an underdog.

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Knicks vs. Pistons Prediction

New York Knicks Preview

The Knicks can’t lose this series, full stop. 

A team that got to Game 7 of the conference semifinals without its second-best player, Julius Randle, one year ago did not trade five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges and a package of players for Karl-Anthony Towns to lose in the first round to a Pistons squad that won 14 games last year.

Terrifyingly for Knicks fans, they’ve clearly been the second-best team up to this point. Their usual advantage in physicality and hustle has been negated by Detroit’s approach to the series, which has largely been to muddy up the games.

Coach Tom Thibodeau also hasn’t done his reputation any good in this series. The Knicks’ archaic offensive actions have been unimaginative and easy to diagnose, leaving Jalen Brunson to look like a one-man show more times than not.

The heavy Brunson usage has caused Towns to become an afterthought, as he only averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds despite shooting 60 percent from the field. 

NY’s 110.2 offensive rating is well below its regular-season standard and ranks ninth among playoff teams. Their 109.8 defensive rating beat their average but is still just seventh in the postseason. 

The team has also been very poor on the glass, something Thibodeau noted in his postgame press conference. But just like Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison can’t let go of “defense wins championships,” blaming the loss on rebounding when the offense has struggled to run efficient sets in consecutive possessions is a sign of shortsightedness. 

These are dangerous times for the Knicks, who are now just 2-4 against the Pistons in the season series and who lost their last visit to Detroit on April 10, 115-106. The Pistons also locked ticket sales so that the vast majority of purchasers would be locals, giving them a stronger home-court advantage.

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Detroit Pistons Preview

What a decision it was by the Pistons’ front office to surround Cade Cunningham with low-cost veteran players with tons of experience. Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, and Dennis Schroder have all had their moments, the most recent being Schroder’s game-deciding three-pointer with less than a minute left in Game 2.

Young star Cade Cunningham has been very impressive in his first taste of postseason action. Although he was inefficient shooting the ball in Game, he still went for 21 points, 12 assists, and six rebounds before bouncing back with 33 points and 12 rebounds in Game 2.

Detroit’s offensive and defensive ratings are the exact opposite of the Knicks’. Their decided advantage has come on the boards, where they posted the fourth-best rebounding percentage of all playoff squads. 

The Pistons have also done an excellent job at limiting the Knicks’ three-point assault. They held them to 10 made threes per game on 32.8 percent, both well below their season marks of 12.6 per game on 36.9 percent. 

It’s also not as if the Pistons haven’t faced challenges in this series. Jalen Brunson scored 34 and 37 points and has drawn a ton of fouls, but they’ve found ways to put themselves in winning positions. 

Normally, the Pistons’ talent deficit would suggest that the Knicks will slowly impose their will as the series continues. However, NY’s reluctance to go to its bench means its starters are playing tons of minutes, and burnout is not only possible but likely, judging by the last postseason. 

A Pistons win here would be a real sign that they could go on to win this series. They’ve done a terrific job all season functioning as the underdog and surprise team, so it remains to be seen how they would perform as the hunted.

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Knicks vs. Pistons Betting Pick

• Knicks vs. Pistons pick: Knicks ML (-118) at BetMGM 

The Knicks have all of the reason in the world to win this game. Towns individually should have the motivation after he only scored 10 points, Brunson has been on fire, and players like Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby can play much better.

That said, the Pistons’ sense of belief is something their community hasn’t experienced in more than a decade. This should be their best home-court advantage of the season, and they’ve consistently played a notch better than the Knicks.

I ultimately believe the Knicks will win this game, but I don’t think it will be easy, and I’d put in an early vote for the Pistons to win Game 4 and tie the series at 2-2.

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How to Watch Knicks vs. Pistons on 4/24/25

• When: Thursday, April 24 @ 7:00 p.m. ET

• Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI

• TV: TNT