The Knee Jerks Podcast - October 19, 2026

Detroit sports podcasters Greg Eno, Big Al Beaton, and Nick Milanovich are The Knee Jerks!

With NBA opening day on tap for Tuesday, this week is a Detroit Pistons-centric show as we welcome back our NBA Stats Guru, Siddy Hall. We discuss the Pistons' off season moves, their outlook for 2026-27 in what should be a vastly improved East, and make NBA predictions. 

Hoops topics include:

Did the Pistons fix their playoff shortcomings by adding a significant amount of 3 point shooting? (John Collins, Isaiah Joe, Tauren Prince all shot +40% from 3)

Will the (hopefully) improved spacing help the offense and specifically Cade Cunningham?

The East looks to be the NBA's dominant conference. Did the team improve enough to stay at the top of the East? Will their significant roster depth help? 

The Jalen Duren situation is settled. Can he step up his game? Admittedly, he looked great in exhibition actions. 

In the second half of the episode, topics include: 

The Detroit Red Wings started the season with their first 7 of  8 games at home, going 3-3-2, good for 8 points and 7th place in the Atlantic. They now head out on their first west coast swing of the season.

The Wings continue to be in a ridiculous contract stalemate with Simon Edvinsson, who remains in Sweden. Meanwhile, Dylan Larkin is playing but will be traded in the nexk week, according to ESPN's John Buccigross. 

Shockingly, the Wings did ink their top scorer, Alex Debrincat, to a 7-year, $91 million deal with a $13 million cap hit.

The 3-2 Detroit Lions are coming off a bye week after a dominant win over the Cardinals. They are also getting healthier, as Brian Branch and Cade Mayes are both expected to play vs the Packers Sunday. 

The NFC North is living up to expectations. The Lions are in last place, thanks to to the Packers and Bears at 4-2, and the Vikings undefeated at 5-0. If the playoffs started today, all 4 North teams would be in. But which teams are legit and who are frauds?

Speaking contract stalemates, the Lions and Sam LaPorta have been unable to agree on a contract extension and have tabled negotiations for the season.

We also play Greg's birthday game and name our Jerks of the week!

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