The New York Knicks will seek their first win of the season and revenge against the Detroit Pistons when they host them at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Despite winning the NBA title last year, New York lost all three regular-season meetings against Detroit in the previous campaign, making the Pistons the only Eastern Conference team to avoid defeat against the Knicks. This season, Detroit has started 3-0 while New York is 0-3, becoming just the third defending champion to begin the following season winless through three games.
Pistons center Jalen Duren will miss the game due to a hamstring injury. Detroit has won each of the last six regular-season matchups between the teams. The Knicks enter as 4.5-point favorites with an over/under of 219.5 points.
According to the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates each game 10,000 times and has returned nearly $19,000 in profit on top-rated NBA picks since 2018, the total points line leans heavily toward the over. The model notes that the last four meetings at Madison Square Garden have all exceeded the total, as have seven of the last eight overall, with five of those seven surpassing the line by double digits. Detroit has seen the over hit in two of its three games this season, and Duren's absence is expected to boost New York's scoring.
The model projects all five Knicks starters to score in double figures, while eight Pistons players are forecast to reach at least eight points. It predicts a combined 225 points, with the over hitting in 57% of simulations. The model also indicates one side of the spread offers better value, though the specific pick is available through the projection service.
The game will be streamed on Fubo.
