Pistons head to New York clinging to playoff hopes

Heading to New York for a two-day, two-game trip, the Detroit Pistons are about to get one big bite of the Big Apple.

Blake Griffin will not be available for the game against the swooning New York Knicks, whom the Pistons play on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, or for the contest against Brooklyn Nets, whom the Pistons play a day later.

What remains to be seen, with just seven games left and the Pistons five games outside of the eighth and final playoff spot in the NBA's Eastern Conference, is whether Detroit has enough time to make a major move. Whether the Pistons have enough talent with Griffin sidelined is another question.

Griffin, who missed Detroit's 103-92 win over the Washington Wizards on Thursday with an ankle contusion, was ruled out for the game and will be re-evaluated next week.

Without Griffin on Thursday, Andre Drummond picked up the slack for the Pistons against the Wizards, scoring 24 points and grabbing 23 rebounds, as the team won its third straight game.

"He was really, really good tonight," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said of Drummond after the game. "Even besides the numbers, 23 (points) and 24 (rebounds), which is pretty incredible. I thought he was really active defensively, I thought he was active offensively. One of his best games of the year, he was really, really good."

Detroit last squared off against the Knicks on Dec. 22, picking up a 104-101 win despite 29 points by Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis has been lost for the season since then, so this matchup will look completely different.

The Pistons last met the Nets on Feb. 7, a little over a week after Griffin was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. Detroit scored a 115-106 win that day -- its fifth straight after trading for the star power forward -- as Griffin had 25 points and seven assists. The post-trade magic wore off, however, and the Pistons lost 13 of their next 16 games.

They have since won five of six to right the ship, though it may be too little, too late.

"Washington has been a tough team for us to get over the hump on, and I'm happy to get a win and stay in the hunt," Detroit guard Reggie Jackson said after the game. "Really, we want to just keep building chemistry and gel."

The Knicks, meanwhile, are in full-fledged evaluation mode, and that includes head coach Jeff Hornacek, who has been the subject of rumors about his future lately.

"Everybody wants to win," Hornacek said earlier this month. "But in the NBA, it's not easy to win. We got to a good start with those guys and then the (Porzingis) injury, were we deep enough with top guys to overcome that? Obviously we weren't able to. But that doesn't mean that we haven't improved. Guys are getting better, trying to improve their competitiveness."

While Detroit has the quick turnaround just over the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday, the Knicks wait until Tuesday to host the visiting Orlando Magic.