Jalen Brunson underlines need for ‘New Years’ mentality after loss to Pistons

NEW YORK – The New York Knicks they have a complicated relationship with the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons’ young group, which wrapped up its regular season against the 2026 Knicks on Thursday night, puts the two teams back in a similar set of circumstances to last season, which culminated in New York’s first round playoff win. Team captain Jalen Brunson however, he no longer wants to rely on last year’s results.

“It’s a new year,” Brunson told reporters at Madison Square Garden after the Knicks’ 126-111 loss.

Detroit’s young group, led by a big playmaker and consisting mostly of hard-hitting specialists in defined roles, resembles the New York teams led by Julius Randle. But, to borrow a Jay-Z dichotomy once laid out in an early 2010s rap masterpiece, Brunson helped these Nicks go from “underpaid” to “overrated.”

New York should be closer to a championship than ever. But Cade CunninghamThe Pistons are a lovable underdog who upsets the NBA hierarchy with surprise road wins. And on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks were the contenders caught on the coast.

The Pistons were missing centers Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, both of whom were suspended after the game against the Charlotte Hornets. That It didn’t matter much to Cunningham. His performance of 42 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists surpassed Brunson’s 33 points, six rebounds and eight assists on 60% shooting from the field.

Detroit’s regular season success didn’t help them against the Knicks in last year’s playoffs. But these pistons seem to work with larger cylinders. The proverbial engine of their offense, Cunningham, leveled up. This allows him to lift his teammates to even greater heights.

The Knicks have work to do before the end of the season if they want to repeat last year’s playoff results against teams like the Pistons. They have reached the required heights a few times, but too often seem to fall back after being reminded that they can.

Bridges finishes another close game on the Knicks bench

Thursday’s loss to the Pistons marked another close game with Mikal Bridges watching from the bench. The Knicks made just eight of their 35 attempts from behind the 3-point arc, with just four different players getting shots for the drop. Brunson and Landry Shamet were the only two Knicks to score more than one, each knocking down three during the 15-point loss.

Two of them Shamet scores 3 points it came in the last eight minutes of the fourth quarter, when he was on the field in place of starter Mikal Bridges. For the versatility of the Knicks scheme, it is important that starters like Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns sit well on the bench in favor of heated stakes. But the head coach Mike Brown said Shamet closed over Bridges because the team needed to score. It wasn’t a resounding endorsement of the two-way wing who just signed a four-year, $150 million extension with a player option for the 2029-30 season.

“Landry hit some shots. We should have scored. They’re both really good defenders. And so I stayed with Landry. But there was nothing where, ‘Oh, I’m going to sit Mikal because he’s not doing this, or he’s not doing that.’ We were looking for points. And Landry was the only one shooting from behind the arc,” the coach said with a laugh that could be said to be nervous.

The key part Knicks’ road to battle this upcoming postseason will find a balance in terms of the participation of their star players – and what they bring to the table in games where shots aren’t going their way. Although Brown made it clear that Bridges was not at fault for not benching late in the game, but rather adjusting to the situation, Bridges is in the future not giving the coaching staff a choice.

Bridges did not ask to be traded for five first-round picks. He didn’t get the Knicks to offer him $150 million and a player option. But the ball is in the 29-year-old’s court as to how he will respond to this adversity. His confessional after the game in Toronto was a fantastic start. New York cannot afford to be out of line.