The Detroit Pistons are significant underdogs in their first-round series against the New York Knicks in the 2025 NBA playoffs.

The 6-seed Pistons (44-38) have the NBA’s sixth-greatest single-season turnaround with a 30-win improvement, led by Cade Cunningham. The 3-seed Knicks (51-31) have two All-Stars, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, and three excellent complementary players in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. (Tobias Harris is the only Piston whose salary cracks the top six of players in this series.)

The Pistons enter with an NBA-record 14-game playoff losing streak — the longest active streak in the four major U.S. pro sports — that dates to the 2008 Eastern Conference finals, though none of the current Pistons were even in the league at that time.

The sportsbooks, based in part on the actions of sharp betters, give the Pistons around a 20% chance to pull the series upset.

But what about the NBA experts?

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Let’s take a look around the internet to tally up who writers are predicting to advance to the second round against the winner of Boston-Orlando:

MITCH ALBOM: Cade Cunningham has learned to be humble and is ready to soar

Pistons vs Knicks predictions, picks for playoff series

USA TODAY Sports

• Lorenzo Reyes: Knicks in 5
• Heather Tucker: Knicks in 6
• James Williams: Knicks in 6
• Jeff Zillgitt: Knicks in 6

Detroit Free Press

• Omari Sankofa II: Knicks in 7
• Shawn Windsor: Knicks in 6
• Jeff Seidel: Pistons in 6
• Marlowe Alter: Knicks in 5

New York Post

• Stefan Bondy: Knicks in 6
• Peter Botte: Knicks 6
• Zach Braziller: Knicks in 7
• Brian Lewis: Knicks in 7
• Jared Schwartz: Knicks in 7
• Mike Vaccaro: Knicks in 5

ESPN

• Jamal Collier: Knicks in 5
• Andre Snellings: Knicks in 7
• Chris Herring: Knicks in 7
• Tim MacMahon: Knicks in 6
• Bobby Marks: Knicks in 5
• Dave McMenamin: Knicks in 7
• Jorge Sedano: Knicks in 7
• Ramona Shelburne: Knicks in 5
• Marc J. Spears: Knicks in 6
• Jeremy Woo: Knicks in 6
• Ohm Youngmisuk: Knicks in 7

CBS Sports

• Brad Botkin: Knicks in 7
• James Herbert: Knicks in 6
• Jack Maloney: Knicks in 6
• Sam Quinn: Knicks in 7
• Colin Ward-Henninger: Knicks in 6
• Jasmyn Wimbish: Knicks in 6

Yahoo Sports

• Dan Devine: Knicks in 7
• Vincent Goodwill: Knicks in 7
• Tom Haberstroh: Knicks in 6
• Morten Stig Jensen: Knicks in 7
• Ben Rohrbach: Knicks in 7
• Dan Titus: Pistons in 7

The Ringer

• Zach Lowe: Knicks in 5
• Michael Pina: Knicks in 7

NBA.com

• Shaun Powell: Knicks in 7

The Athletic

• John Hollinger: Knicks in 6
• James Edwards III: Knicks in 6
• Hunter Patterson: Pistons in 7

Finally tally: 40 Knicks, 3 Pistons.

[ MUST WATCH: Omari Sankofa II, Bryce Simon and James Edwards III joined forces for a special edition of the “The Pistons Pulse” — your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify). ]