With Cade Cunningham getting the night off to nurse his shin injury, this game was an opportunity for Jaden Ivey to run the show. Dwane Casey opted to start Cory Joseph, although his start was very short-lived as he would pick up his 2nd foul just one minute and six seconds into the game.
As has been the case the whole season, the Pistons defense was not good, as they gave up 30 points in the first quarter even though the Knicks only shot 1-of-10 from beyond the arc. A huge culprit for the Pistons bad defensive 1st quarter was rebounding.