Kevin Knox shines in return to Detroit Pistons: 'Felt like I’ve been here all year'
CHICAGO — It was his first game with the Detroit Pistons in 277 days. He played like he never left.
Kevin Knox was arguably the Pistons' best player during Sunday’s 119-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls, Detroit's eighth in a row. He signed his second deal with the Pistons four days prior, more than a year after joining the team during the 2022 offseason and nine months after they traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers.
He led the team with 18 points on near-perfect shooting — he hit his first seven shots before missing a final attempt midway through the fourth quarter. It wasn’t an entirely satisfying debut, as the Pistons lost by double-digits despite leading by 10 during the second quarter. But he immediately showed why the front office wanted him back.
“It felt great,” Knox said. “Felt like I’ve been here all year. New system, new coach and everything, but the chemistry with everyone I played with last year felt the same.”
MORE FAMILIAR FACES: Jaden Ivey, Alec Burks return for Pistons after missing 10 games combined
The Pistons have undergone some staffing changes (namely, replacing ex-head coach Dwane Casey with Monty Williams) since Knox played his previous game with the franchise on Feb. 8. But the roster is largely the same — he has already played with nine players on the current team: Marvin Bagley III, Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Killian Hayes, Jaden Ivey, Isaiah Livers and Isaiah Stewart (though Bogdanovic and Livers were inactive Sunday). That continuity helped him acclimate to a new coaching staff and playbook.
He received a crash course on their new scheme under Williams leading up to the game. It helped that his former teammates were already familiar with the 6-foot-8 forward’s game and his ability to space the floor.
“I give props to the coaches and the players,” Knox said. “They helped me as soon as I got in. They got me the playbook, getting all the simple plays and the reads that I needed to get in order to play in today’s game. Learning terminology now in the league is different, same type of style and same types of plays. Just different lingo for each team. Just once I got hooked on that, I was pretty good.”
Knox shot 37.1% on 3s in Detroit last season and had some notable performances — 17 points and eight rebounds on 8-for-11 shooting during a victory over the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 22 and 21 points and six 3s in a win over the Utah Jazz a day later. Detroit was shorthanded in both games, playing without Cunningham, Stewart and Saddiq Bey due to injuries. Now Knox is stepping up again amid a new wave of injuries.
He knocked down four of his five 3-point attempts Sunday while remaining solid on defense. Toward the end of the third quarter, he stole a lob attempt by Jevon Carter and took it coast-to-coast for a layup.
“It wasn’t just his offense,” Williams said. “His defense was sound for somebody who hasn’t been in our program. I thought he was sound defensively. And then his shotmaking, his ability to space the floor, the willingness to take those shots, and I thought he had some drives tonight that were drives we like in our program. He didn’t hold the ball. He just took off, went down the lane and finished.”
Knox will continue acclimating this week, but his role is already clear. The Pistons had a need for a floor-spacing power forward to back up Stewart. And as they await the return of five players — Bogdanovic, Duren, Livers, Joe Harris and Monte Morris — Knox’s two-way ability will continue to be key.
“I can shoot the ball really well,” Knox said. “My versatility stands out. The biggest thing is just competing on defense, being able to guard multiple positions. And then offense is just figuring out what I can do to help the team. We have a lot of great guards, a lot of guys are out, injured guys that can shoot the ball really well. That’s what they need me to come in and do — knock down shots, make reads and compete hard on defense.”
Ivey feeling better after battling viral infection
Ivey nodded his head knowingly when asked if his symptoms last week were nasty.
“Nasty,” he repeated.
The second-year guard missed four games last week as he battled an illness. The timing of it set off social media conspiracy theorists skeptical of his bench role under Williams, but the head coach confirmed last week that Ivey was dealing with a viral infection. After Sunday’s loss, Ivey provided details.
“I thank the trainers for helping me get back, because I was really, really struggling,” he said. “I could barely even watch TV. I had some symptoms going that were crazy, some symptoms that I’d never really experienced before ever. I’m back on my feet now.
“Lots of sleep. It was tough to hydrate, very tough. I couldn’t keep anything down, honestly. My trainers stayed on top of me. My wife did as well, she helped a lot. Really got some great rest. I think that’s what I needed more, was just some rest. It was a bug, something happened after New Orleans that took me out.”
Ivey played just 11:25 in his first game back Sunday, finishing with six points. The coaching staff was conservative with him and Burks, who returned from a six-game absence (left forearm contusion) to play 20:39 — his lowest court time of the season.
Williams mentioned after the game that he played Burks longer than intended for stretches. He had a strong return coming off the bench, scoring 16 points and dishing out four assists. The team missed the spacing he provides.
“I think once he gets his legs underneath him, he’s just going to be more and more effective,” Williams said of Burks.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.
Next up: Hawks
Matchup: Pistons (2-9) vs. Atlanta (5-4), NBA In-Season Tournament Group A play.
Tipoff: 7 p.m. Tuesday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.
TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons get big night out of Kevin Knox's return
