Detroit Pistons reserve Isaiah Stewart was sidelined for Monday’s Recreation 2 in opposition to the Knicks at Madison Sq. Backyard due to irritation in his proper knee. He missed the ultimate two video games of the common season due to the identical challenge.
The 23-year-old middle performed practically 19 minutes in Saturday’s 123-112 Recreation 1 loss, contributing two factors, 5 rebounds, one help and two blocks. Throughout the common season, he averaged 6.0 factors, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks throughout 72 video games.
Stewart is taken into account day-to-day, per Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Beginning middle Jalen Duren, who averaged 26.1 minutes in 78 regular-season video games, took on a heavier workload in Stewart’s absence.
“Yeah, there’s opportunities,” Bickerstaff stated. “Clearly, we’ll check out completely different lineups. I feel JD has to step up for us. I imply, massive time, particularly with Stewart out and take in a whole lot of these minutes, which he’s confirmed to be able to. He’s executed it for us all season lengthy. So, I feel it begins there with him.
“And I think he’s been dominant in the paint at both ends of the floor, protecting the paint, rebounding the basketball, putting pressure on the rim in the pick-and-roll game. So, I think he found his niche and what this team needs him to do, and he was able to do it on a consistent basis.”
The Pistons held a 98-92 lead when Stewart exited with 9:06 left within the fourth quarter Recreation 1. The Knicks then surged with a 21-0 run, seizing management of the sport.
“The Knicks, give them credit, came out and played with a sense of urgency in that quarter,” Bickerstaff stated. “And I do feel like it’s just one of those things that you have to learn how to do, right? You go through our progress through this season, we had to learn how to win regular-season games first, right? And I thought our guys did a great job of figuring that out. Now, this is different. Now, you have to figure out a way to win playoff games and win them in the fourth quarter when it matters most.”
Paul Reed, a 6-9 ahead who’s appeared in 26 playoff video games throughout 4 NBA seasons, is one other stable frontcourt possibility for the Pistons till Stewart returns.
“They have versatility,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau stated. “They have other guys that can step in and play that position. So, we know Paul Reed is a very active player. We know [Tobias] Harris can play there. Duren, obviously, he can get more minutes too. That’s sort of the nature of our league – the next guys get in there and I always say you can’t be here without being a great player and that’s one through 15.”
