The Detroit Pistons dominated the New York Knicks to officially clinch the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Go inside the locker room afterwards and check out head coach Dwane Casey's comments to his players!
ICYMI, go inside the locker room after we clinched our playoff spot and hear Coach's message to the team. #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/xSalP7bocB
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 11, 2019
BONUS CONTENT:
Official: Pistons clinch playoff spot
It took longer than fans would have preferred, but now they can rest assured – for the first time since 2016, the Detroit Pistons will be in the NBA playoffs!
PLAYOFF BOUND. #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/oTk6ScJ5VY
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 11, 2019
They officially confirmed their reservation for the dance with a 115-89 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. It was further made possible after an imperative 100-93 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Little Caesars Arena last night.
The Pistons will have a daunting task in front of them, with their likely opponent set to be the Eastern Conference's best team, the Milwaukee Bucks.
It will also mark the first time that playoff action will be hosted by Little Caesars Arena, which opened in 2017.
BONUS CONTENT:
Andre Drummond responds to fan on Twitter
It was an ugly scene at Little Caesars Arena during the first half of Tuesday night's game between the Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies. The fact that Memphis was missing eight regulars from their lineup didn't stop the players on the floor from building a staggering 22 point lead over Detroit, leading to a chorus of boos from the fans in attendance.
However, the Pistons were able to mount a comeback for a dramatic 100-93 victory to inch closer to the Eastern Conference's playoff spot. Pistons center Andre Drummond had himself a good second half, with a renewed effort on the defensive end.
“I made a decision to start trapping in the second half,” Drummond explained. “I told (assistant) coach Sweeney – ‘I think we need to blitz them and make them speed up the game a little…..we made them play our game, we made them pick the pace up and they weren’t ready for it.”
