The Detroit Pistons will finally be on national TV … for preseason, anyway. The Pistons made their four-game preseason slate official, and it features an opening-night game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 4 that will be broadcast on TNT.
The Pistons will then travel to New Orleans to take on Zion Williamson and the Pelicans before returning home for two games at Little Caesars Arena. They will play the suddenly Chet Holmgren-less Oklahoma City Thunder and Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies will clash with Detroit on Oct. 13.
The game against the Knicks being on TNT is a bit of a surprise, but maybe that just shows how much faith the league and its TV partners have in an eventual trade that could see Donovan Mitchell making his Knicks debut in Madison Square Garden. Or maybe they’re just really excited about the arrival of Jalen Brunson and that people, inexplicably, always want to watch the Knicks on TV.
Most interesting for Pistons fans might be that Grizzlies matchup as the final tune-up before the regular season. Detroit fans are excited to see new guard Jaden Ivey in action, and while the pre-draft comparisons to Morant were wildly overblown, it will be nice to see Ivey get a chance to go toe-to-toe with the Grizz’s superstar guard. Hopefully there are some worthy highlights both ways.
Ivey isn’t the only new addition to Detroit that fans will be anxious to see in a Pistons uniform. There is fellow draft pick Jalen Duren as well as a bulked up, second-year Cade Cunningham ready to show how much more advanced his game is in year 2. Add to that some veteran help in Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel and a hopefully healthy and rejuvenated Kelly Olynyk, and there is plenty to be intrigued by.
Of course, the Pistons are still one of the league’s youngest teams, and there will be plenty of losses along the way. But we finally get to see Cade, Jaden, Saddiq, Beef Stew, Livers, Duren and Bagley in a Detroit uniform again. Oh, and Kevin Knox! We can’t forget Knox!
Detroit Pistons Preseason Schedule
- Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.: at New York Knicks (TNT, Bally Sports Detroit)
- Oct. 7 at 8 p.m.: at New Orleans Pelicans (Bally Sports Detroit)
- Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.: vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (Bally Sports Detroit)
- Oct. 14 at 7p.m.: vs. Memphis Grizzlies (Bally Sports Detroit)