NBA Basketball BETTING PREVIEW - Detroit Pistons @ New York Knicks

NBA Basketball

2026-02-19 - Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

Detroit Pistons @ New York Knicks
United States : NBA Basketball
Thursday 19th February 2026 - Scheduled 7:30pm
12:30am (British Time)

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Preview

Two years ago, the Detroit Pistons (40-13) finished with just fourteen regular season wins and the worst record in the NBA, but this is a team that has been Drafting very well. At the end of last year they had improved to forty-four wins and the Pistons earned a spot in the First Round of the NBA Playoffs, but they are set for another leap in 2026 with the team 5.5 games clear of the rest in the Eastern Conference coming out of the All Star Break.

There is no doubt that the Pistons are going to cruise past the win total from last year and they are on course for the best regular season since 2008 when they had over fifty wins.

That was also the last season in which the Detroit Pistons won a Playoff Series when they were able to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. It was a time when the Pistons were amongst the very best teams in the NBA having won the Championship in 2004, reaching the NBA Finals in 2005 and then losing in the Eastern Conference Finals three years in a row.

2025 was just the second time that the Pistons had finished with a winning record in the regular season since 2008, but this current group know that the regular season record is only the start of what they want to achieve. They will be well aware that they are going to be judged by efforts in April, May and June and not February, but the Pistons will want to return from the All Star Break and pick up from where they left off.

Making an early statement to their rivals is the ambition on Thursday when travelling to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks (35-20) who have Championship aspirations of their own.

Big decisions are going to be made in the off-season if the Knicks are not able to go one better than 2025 and at least make the NBA Finals, but that has put the team under some real pressure. The Knicks have yet to really put the best basketball together consistently, but they won't be too bothered about that and instead will want to just get the better of a Detroit team that has beaten them twice in the regular season already.

New York will respect the Defensive intensity that the Detroit Pistons have produced all season, but the Knicks have been built to find wide open three point shooters. They want to use those shooters to build the pressure and the Knicks will certainly feel they can land plenty of blows on the Detroit Pistons from outside of the arc in this one.

The Pistons have been able to get out to those shooters to make life difficult and they will be keen to win the battle on the glass against the active New York hands. Turnovers could also be important and that has been another way the Detroit Defensive unit have found to slow down teams and get the ball into the hands of their own playmakers.

Prior to the trade deadline, reports suggested the Knicks were a little concerned with some of their own Defensive performances. The players must have read the same reports with the improvement shown on this side of the ball going into the All Star Break and this is going to be key for New York and any extended run they are able to have in the post-season.

Detroit have found plenty of balance Offensively and they have the kind of grittiness that has helped them put together a very strong.

Having a bit more control of the ball has also been important for the Pistons and they may do enough to keep this one competitive on the scoreboard.

Prediction

These two teams met in the NBA Playoffs last year and there is every chance they are going to have to get past the other to have a deep run this time around too.

The Detroit Pistons continue to improve year after year and they have shown they can handle themselves against any opponent.

You have to like how the New York Knicks have been rolling, but they are not expected to blowout this Pistons team who have beaten them twice already this season.

The Pick :

New York Knicks 110-108 Detroit Pistons

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Detroit Pistons + 4.5 Points at -115 with Bovada