After witnessing the 15 minutes Kawhi parted the Red Sea at the All-Star game and my singular favorite tournament of the sports calendar: Unrivaled’s psychotic 1-on-1 games, I was ready to see the New York Knicks lock in after the All-Star break, snatch their lick back from Detroit on Prime Thursday, Action Bronson and Joe Budden in attedance. Let’s go.
The Knicks missed all their jumpers and the Pistons continued their pillaging of New York, Detriot winning 126-111. The Knicks, the best team on paper, drop a level, into a 4th place race with a hot Cleveland team, Jarrett Allen ressurrected, sitting up from the autopsy table, awoken by James Harden’s perfect, gentle touch passes in the paint.
Okay, so let’s start big picture and then we’ll get real molecular with it.
Here are my takeaways from the disaster.
1. The Detroit Pistons are the best team in the East
All season I’ve said the Knicks are the best team in the East.
And they were.
Consistent? Eh. But in a controlled, 7-game environment, their talent would win out.
Injuries, illnesses, suspensions, problems at home, waking up on the wrong side of the bed—no force powerful enough to stop the 2025-26 Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons are so good, they tossed their 2022 3rd overall pick in the trash, pulled out a Kevin Huerter, held it to the light, shrugged and threw it back in that same garbage. They had the longest losing streak in NBA history two years ago and now they’re picky about who gets minutes.
2. Karl-Anthony Towns is a baby
Karl-Anthony Towns no-showed the first half, got himself hot in the 3rd, and And-1 three to get Paul Reed in foul trouble, a dunk in transition off a smooth shovel pass from the Captain, the highest paid player on the team woke up.
After the Knicks battle to get within 2 points, Mikal steals the ball at halfcourt and taps it to KAT. Towns proceeds to take one dribble and start taking off before the 3-point line so he’s stuck in the air to throw a contested, janky ass alley oop to OG—Pistons get the rebound, sprint down for a quick Duncan Robinson corner 3.
All of the momentum was lost here pic.twitter.com/CAz11kKRii
— Dylan Backer (@DylanBackerESM) February 20, 2026
Game over.
Every game, I hear the broadcasters say, “The Knicks need to get Karl-Anthony Towns involved.”
I couldn’t disagree more.
The last thing the Knicks need is KAT stampeding out of control, destroying the lab—ruining the momentum with his lame, ill-timed showboating, main character syndrome whispering “Drive to the basket, hurl the ball directly into the ceiling, fall on the ground and yell at the refs, again.”
KAT is an immature baby who doesn’t take this shit seriously enough. He’s 30 years old, still not comfortable in his own skin, feigning confidence mid-game via bullshit behind-the-back dribble attempts and wild, clunky offensive fouls.
3. Mikal and OG need to hang out
Enough of this shit.
Mikal and OG Anunoby should be the most dominant wing combo in the NBA but they play like they were forced onto the same team in an LA Fitness open run.
OG Anunoby sucked Thursday night. 8 points, 3-for-13 from the field, 1-for-8 from 3, no rebounds or assists.
Sucked.
Perfect night for Mikal Bridges to look over at his struggling brother and say “don’t worry, I got you”, taking over the scoring load—OG becoming more of a screener/cutter, Mikal on the perimeter for those open threes instead of OG.
This isn’t a coaching issue.
It doesn’t make sense for Mike Brown to look OG in the eyes to say, “You don’t have it tonight, let Mikal take the shots”. You’ll kill confidence and guys straight up won’t fuck with you.
It’s up to the guys on the court, in the game, to recognize KAT isn’t participating and OG’s shooting a medicine ball.
Mikal and OG need to become friends, man. These two should be the Bash Brothers, locking arms at the perimeter and turning basketball into red rover. I don’t even think they say “switch” to each other on defense.
I need my two timid kings to go hit the bars one night, two-man mission, bond for life.
4. Jose Alvarado and Josh Hart will infuriate me
First of all, Jose Alvarado and Josh Hart, through my red slanted eyes, look identical on the court, on just a smaller version of the other, which is already a little annoying, like, wear a different color headband or something.
But what’s most frustrating is they both play defense the same way, roving in passing lanes, not communicating with teammates because they’re trying to be sneaky, thus allowing their assignments to always cut backdoor on them. Always.
Josh Hart/Jose Alvarado shared minutes, against the best teams in the NBA, are punts on first down.
5. Jeremy Schoen is interesting
A fucking crash test dummy, playing limited minutes, Schoen ran through screens like he didn’t care what happened to him. The one guy on the team who isn’t looking for his own buckets at all—able to give his full energy on defense. Even Mo Diawara would like to establish himself as a potential scorer in this league, even if it’s not his role currently.
Schoen was living in Cade’s jersey in his brief time on the court.
Something interesting in here.
Mike Brown needs to figure out lineups to maximize Schoen, allowing him to be a maniac off the bench in spurts, without taking away from their offense.
Good luck to the Pistons. This is your one and only chance before Tyrese Haliburton returns and the Pacers run Cade out of the gym.
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