Knicks sit Hart, Anunoby and Robinson in loss to Pistons

DETROIT — The Knicks and Pistons faced off at Little Caesars Arena in what is almost certainly a preview of a first-round playoff matchup.

And almost nothing you saw Thursday night in the Pistons 115-106 win even remotely resembled what you’ll see next weekend when the series begins.

The Knicks missed out on a chance to lock in the third seed in the Eastern Conference, a spot that has seemed a fait accompli since December when they moved into that spot. With Indiana beating Cleveland the Knicks magic number remains one to secure the third spot. The Pistons remain alive to jump up to the fifth seed, even as they entered the night two games back of Milwaukee with three games left.

And the lineups the Knicks put on display bore no resemblance to the rotation that Tom Thibodeau will employ in the postseason. Thibodeau never tanks a game, insisting that he believes in the next man up and preaching that the Knicks have more than enough. That may all be true, but he certainly didn’t employ his most representative squad Thursday.

The Knicks sat Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson — although Thibodeau claimed that those were medical staff decisions, as if he couldn’t bring himself to say he was giving a rest day ahead of the playoffs. And after starting Deuce McBride and Precious Achiuwa in place of Hart and Anunoby, Thibodeau continued to add a giveaway-night feel to the game, even after the Knicks built a 13-point lead early before giving it all away.

“Just dealing with tonight and tomorrow we’ll deal with tomorrow,” Thibodeau said. “That’s what medical recommended, so that’s what we’re doing.”

P.J. Tucker, who had played just two minutes all season and hadn’t scored in a year to the day, came in in the first quarter and played 16 first-half minutes, more than Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns. In the end, Towns had 25 points and 10 rebounds while Brunson had 15 points, struggling through a 5-for-16 shooting performance.

It’s understandable that with the two on a path toward an opening round playoff matchup neither coach wanted to show their hand and provide a scouting blueprint just over a week from the start of that series. While the Pistons played their regular rotation they weren’t about to experiment with strategies to tease the series.

“There may be a time for that, but for us tonight, just with guys possibly coming back from injuries and those type of things, we just want guys to be comfortable,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We want to go out and execute our system. We’ll have some guys on minutes restrictions. We’re not going to fool around with being outside ourselves. We want our guys to be comfortable and feel confident in what we do because that’s what got us here. Instead of trying new things that may or may not work to our favor, tonight will be pretty vanilla in our system, just to give guys confidence in what we do.”

Thibodeau echoed that sentiment.

“It doesn’t change your approach or anything,” Thibodeau said. “You go through the finish line into the next game prepared like you would do for every game. Don’t change anything and understand what goes into winning. Anytime someone’s out, it’s an opportunity for someone else to step in. Understand what your job is, go in there and do your job.”

But there were certainly things the Knicks could glean from this game. First, they’d better have their best defenders — with size — ready to defend Cade Cunningham, who poured in 36 points.

And with the Pistons putting out a regular rotation, the Knicks could get a hint of how hard they play, an updated version of Bad Boys squads still beloved in Detroit.

“I think, because we play a physical brand of basketball, that our team is built for the playoffs,” Bickerstaff said. “But again, the experience for us is still going to be necessary as well.”

“I think J.B. [Bickerstaff] has done a terrific job,” Thibodeau said. “I thought he did a terrific job in Cleveland. I think they have a lot of young players, and they’ve gotten better, and that usually happens with experience. And I think they added really good veterans that have complimented their young players really well. So, they’ve been consistent from the start of the season throughout, and they’re strong on both sides of the ball.”