As a few of the first NBA Playoff games have turned into slogs reminiscent of the 1990s, it is a bit sacrilegious that the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks put together a high-scoring Game 1. They blew past the total, both teams shooting well from deep.
My Pistons vs. Knicks props and NBA picks expect more high-scoring, though the best shooter in the series likely will continue showing restraint come tip at 7:30 ET on Monday, April 21.
Best Pistons vs Knicks props
Towns Under 1.5 threes (-135 at bet365)
Cunningham Over 27.5 points (-110 at bet365)- Hardaway Over 2.5 threes (+125 at bet365)
Pistons vs Knicks player props for April 21
Karl-Anthony Towns Under 1.5 threes (-135 at bet365)
Karl-Anthony Towns went a meager 1-of-3 from deep in Game 1. Making only one 3-pointer is not the piece of that to focus on. Taking just three 3-pointers stands out far more.
Then again, Towns took no more than three 3-pointers in his last seven games of the regular season, including going 0-for-1 at Detroit on April 10.
He is the best shooting big man in NBA history, but a reluctance to truly open it up from deep has always been a frustration in Towns’ game. When the Timberwolves traded him for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, Minnesota outright expected to hit more threes because of DiVincenzo’s volume compared to Towns’.
The Detroit Pistons emphasize that hesitancy. Detroit ranked No. 9 in opponents’ 3-point frequency rate in the last month of the season, also above average in opponents’ 3-point percentage at just 36.4%.
Towns will gladly revert to post-ups. He is an efficient scorer inside, too, largely how he scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting on Saturday. Abandoning the arc may limit the New York Knicks’ ceiling, but it certainly does not doom their offense. Against the Pistons, it will be that much more available.
Cade Cunningham Over 27.5 points (-110 at bet365)
Cade Cunningham managed only 21 points in Game 1, going a woeful 8-for-21 from the field and 1-for-4 from deep. The Pistons need more from their superstar if they plan on turning this into a series.
It's a heavy lift. Cunningham is without his best backcourt made in Jaden Ivey, and too much of the rest of Detroit’s starting lineup is unable to create its own offense. Cunningham has to do most of it.
But he is too good to not pour in some points this series, even if largely out of desperation.
Cunningham usually finishes better than he did on Saturday, so start by expecting that. If he had shot his season average from inside the arc, his tally would have risen to 25 points. That is not a heavy lift. That is simply regressing to a mean.
If Cunningham finds any greater urgency, then this 27.5 will be cleared easily.
Tim Hardaway Jr. Over 2.5 threes (+125 at bet365)
Tim Hardaway Jr. went 3-for-8 from deep in Game 1, an output that might draw some defensive attention and limit him … if not for Malik Beasley. One of the most prolific shooters in the NBA in 2025, Beasley went 6-for-12 on his way to 20 points in 35 minutes, and he was still a -9 in the box score.
Beasley is what he is, and against the Knicks, he's a defensive liability.
With Cunningham needing to take on more of a role, that should reduce Beasley’s chances. Given his defensive lapses, less of Beasley on offense suddenly should mean less of Beasley overall, and that will mean more Hardaway.
An uptick in Hardaway’s minutes obviously helps this thought, as does the value of getting this prop at +125. He cleared this number in five of his last nine regular-season games, shooting 42.3% from deep since March 28. This is not a leap for Hardaway and it should not be priced this aggressively.
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