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The New York Knicks failed to seize an opportunity to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, dropping Game 5 at home to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, 106-103. Both teams were sloppy, and the Knicks' failed coaching maneuvers, as well as injuries to Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, could have been the collective nail in the coffin of the vital opportunity.
Granted, officiating played a role again, too. A block on a Mikal Bridges layup that absolutely should have been goaltending turned into a three-point play on the other end, amounting to a five-point swing.
But there were a number of unforced errors made by the Knicks in Game 5, all of which need to change if they hope to win the series on the road in Game 6. Let’s review exactly how the Knicks must tweak their strategy to ensure a strong performance.
Knicks' carelessness gave Pistons extra opportunities
The Knicks had been relatively careful with the basketball through the playoffs so far. They’d averaged only 10 turnovers per game entering Game 5. But Game 5 was not indicative of the that level of caution.
New York turned the ball over 15 times on Tuesday night, 50 percent more than they’d averaged in the previous four games. And turnovers not only rob you of scoring opportunities, but they give your opponent additional chances to score and kill your momentum.
Simply put, the Knicks must be more careful with the basketball. That can be accomplished by players understanding who they're passing the ball to. For example, there were relatively difficult passes to Mitchell Robinson made by Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart throughout the game. These passes are unlikely to be successful since Robinson isn’t used to being fed the ball.
Tom Thibodeau needs to get his team on the same page and remind guys who control the ball that all passes aren't created equally.
Knicks poor free throw shooting cost them points
This is another inexcusable error—the Knicks made only 59.3 percent of their free throws in Game 5. Yes, you read that right. 59.3 percent. That is inexcusable.
Brunson was OK from the charity stripe (7-for-10). As was Karl-Anthony Towns (5-for-6). But Robinson was only 3-for-7, Miles McBride was 0-for-2, and Bridges was 1-for-2. And that's all the free throws the Knicks attempted.
How did the Knicks go an entire game without a single OG Anunoby free throw? Or one from Josh Hart? The referees could be partially to blame. But Thibodeau has to get his better free throw shooters more attempts at the rim to generate more points.
Tom Thibodeau's decision to forego timeout hurt Knicks
This one was less obvious, until it wasn't. The idea of holding on to a final timeout made some sense with two minutes left in the ball game. But the Knicks ran with Cam Payne and McBride instead of Brunson and Hart because they preferred the notion of keeping that last timeout.
That decision ultimately hurt, especially when it was Payne who rushed an unsuccessful runner in transition that allowed the Pistons to kill more time and add to the lead. Bridges and OG Anunoby made late three pointers to give the Knicks a chance with seconds remaining.
But that aside, having two of your most important players on the floor is of the utmost importance, especially when one (Brunson) was the 2024-25 NBA Clutch Player of the Year. This is something Thibodeau has to live with and correct. Granted, no two crunch time decisions are the same. But Thibodeau has to make better decisions down the stretch for the Knicks to win.
Ultimately, these corrections are as straightforward as it gets—protect the basketball, convert free throw attempts, and have your best players on the floor in crunch time. It's obviously not as simple as it sounds. But the Knicks should be optimistic that the game was that close despite their poor execution. If they can improve on these issues, they could very possibly close the Pistons out in Game 6 in Detroit.
