Only the LA Clippers, with six straight ATS wins, are a better bet than the Detroit Pistons right now. Detroit has won five consecutive games against the spread and seven of its last eight. Additionally, the Pistons have only lost one game straight up since the all-star break. Despite that, they are 2-point road dogs at Barclays tonight against the Nets. The total opened at 221.5.
Standout Stats
- This is the third meeting of the season for these teams, but the first since Halloween. Detroit has won three of the last four games in this matchup straight up and covered the 2.5-point spread in the game it lost.
- Detroit’s +11.9 is the best point differential in the NBA since the all-star break, almost twice as much as No. 2 Houston at +6.3. Brooklyn is No. 13 at +0.2.
- The Pistons are 3-0 SU and ATS in their last three games on the second half of a back-to-back but are 0-12 SU and 1-11 ATS as a road underdog of 3 or fewer points since December 2016. Meanwhile, Brooklyn is 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS as a home favorite of 3 points or less this season.
- Detroit has the No. 5 scoring offense since the break at 118.3 points per game. The Nets are at No. 21 with 109.7 points per game.
- Detroit’s offense is bolstered by its 15.1 three-pointers made per game and 42.9 percent three-point shooting in the second half. Meanwhile, Brooklyn is holding teams to 10.3 three-pointers per game (fourth) and a three-point shooting percentage of 30.6 (first) in the second half.
- The Nets and Pistons are top 10 in both fouls taken and personal fouls drawn. That tells us there will probably be a lot of free throws and with a small spread in this game, that could be a difference maker. Unfortunately, this is a hard advantage to quantify because both teams have been equally as bad from the line, no matter which segment of the season you look at. Detroit has been marginally better, and maybe that’s all it takes.
My Best Bet for Pistons vs Nets
Pistons +2
I see this game going back and forth all night and right until the end and in cases like this I will normally take the underdog. I’m perfectly OK with taking the underdog Pistons in this game as they are 8-1 SU since the break and have compiled the best point differential in the league during this stretch. Additionally, on their current five-game winning streak, Detroit is beating teams by an average of 17.8 points.
