Stan Van Gundy opens up on the harsh playoff reality facing Knicks

TNT commentator and former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy, the brother of ex-Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, takes a timeout for some playoffs Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.

Q: What are your thoughts on a Knicks-Pistons first-round series?

A: The Pistons are good, and J.B. [Bickerstaff, coach] has done a fabulous job, and Cade Cunningham is maybe the most underrated star in the league. I think because of their lack of success last year and everything, it took people a while this year to realize they were for real, and I don’t think that people are still giving him their credit, so they’ve got a true star. They are really, really good at the defensive end. They rebound the heck out of the ball. Look, that team can match up with New York. I think that would be a tough series. I’m not a great predictor, but I think the games in that series would be hard-fought. … I’d probably take the Knicks in seven. I don’t think there’s that much separating those two teams. Actually, as far as the Knicks at full strength, I think that Detroit would scare me more if I were a Knick fan than Milwaukee or Indiana. Even though Indiana beat ’em last year, the Knicks weren’t at full strength. Now if [Damian] Lillard is there, whole different ballgame. I’d still take the Knicks, but now I think it would be a competitive series.

Q: So there’s no danger the Knicks would overlook the Pistons?

A: I know this: Tom [Thibodeau] and his coaching staff aren’t gonna overlook anybody. Tom never has. I think they’ll have great respect for Detroit and what they’ve done, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. And I think the Knicks have veteran guys who have been through battles, and they’re mature. They understand that you respect everybody. There’s no way you could look at that Detroit team — how well they’ve played, how hard they play, how hard they compete — and think anything’s gonna be easy. There’s just no chance of that.

Q: What makes Cunningham so special?