Detroit – Tobias Harris grinned with an answer.
He played the Knicks in the playoffs alongside the 76ers last year, and is doing so again this year as a key starter for the Pistons.
What did he realize about the Knicks team’s personality this year compared to last year?
“It’s certainly another dynamic,” Harris said on a shootaround before Game 3 on Thursday morning. “That’s it…it’s part of our game plan.”
The Knicks have made two blockbusters and spent a lot of capital in the offseason, buying up the town of Karl Anthony and Mikal Bridge, and are promoted to candidates that can compete with the Celtics and other elite teams in the East. However, they lost Julius Randle and Donte Divinsenzo in the town trade, and Isaiah Hartenstein set out at the free agency.
Randle, Divincenzo and Hartenstein last year provided much of the Knicks grit as three of the toughest and most physical players. That identity is something we can miss without them this year.
And throughout the first two games of the series, the Pistons, who built a reputation with competing opponents during this breakout season, bullied the Knicks in terms of their physicality and aggression.
Last year, the Knicks were usually bullies. That was certainly true when they beat Harris’ 76ers in six games in the first round.
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In the first two games of the series, the Pistons threw their first punch, and the Knicks played their backs.
“We’re just playing hard, trying to set the tone and trying to get offensive,” Aussal Thompson said Thursday morning. “Please adapt the refs and the other teams to us.”
Harris himself roughly matches him with a town of 4 inches and 22 pounds. On paper, it should allow the town to impose his size on Harris and other piston defenders.
However, he couldn’t actually play the first two games.
“I’ll definitely accept that,” Harris said. “For me, it’s just physical. Make sure he has a tough look. Check out all the look he’s getting.
