Detroit Pistons vs. Brooklyn Nets Prediction, Preview, and Odds
The NBA offers up a 13-game slate on Saturday, and one of the intriguing matchups features an Eastern Conference showdown between the Detroit Pistons and the Brooklyn Nets. Detroit enters this contest at 2-26 while Brooklyn is currently 13-15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 ET from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Pistons Drop 25th Straight Game
As you can tell by the 2-26 record, things clearly aren’t going well this season for Monty Williams and his Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have now dropped 25 straight games, which is a franchise record. For those wondering, the 2014-2015 76ers hold the record with 28 straight losses. This is an interesting spot considering the Pistons will play a home-and-home series against the Nets, so they’ll get two cracks at beating them. From a sports betting perspective, Detroit comes into this game at 9-18-1 ATS and they’ve seen 16 of their 28 games go over the total.
If there was ever a spot for the Pistons to break back into the win column, it would’ve been last time out against the Jazz. Utah notched a 119-111 victory, moving them to 3-13 on the road. Detroit was the better shooting team from the field (50.0% to 45.7%), but they were outshot from three-point range (29.0% to 36.7%) while also losing battles on the glass (41 to 44) and in the turnover department (13 to 21).
Individually, Cade Cunningham has been the most productive player in Detroit’s backcourt. He leads the way in both scoring (22.2 PPG) and assists (7.0 APG). Ausar Thompson has made his presence known down low, adding 10.0 points per game while securing a team-leading 8.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per night.
Nets Cool Off, Lose Fifth Straight
Jacque Vaughn’s Brooklyn squad got out to a solid 13-10 start to the new campaign, but they’ve now dropped five straight games, moving them to 13-15. The five recent losses have come against Denver (124-101), Golden State (124-120), Utah (125-108), New York (121-102), and Denver (122-117) again, most recently. The oddsmakers aren’t particularly excited about Brooklyn this season, listing them at +40000 to win the title. That’s the eighth-longest odds in the Association. As for the game-level gambling numbers, the Nets come into this one at 17-9-1 ATS and they’ve seen 14 of their 27 games go under the total.
The recent loss to the Nuggets came down to the wire, but the Nets were ultimately edged out by five points at home. The five-point deficit saw Brooklyn cover as a 5.5-point underdog. Statistically, Brooklyn was better in the rebounding category (45 to 41) but was outshot from both the field (48.3% to 51.7%) and from the three-point range (39.4% to 42.3%).
As for individual efforts, Cam Thomas has paved the way in terms of scoring, averaging 24.1 points per game. Spencer Dinwiddie joins him in the backcourt, adding 14.8 points per contest while dishing out a team-leading 6.8 assists per night.
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Brooklyn comes into this Saturday game as nearly a double-digit favorite. They’ll be on the second night of a back-to-back, where they lost 122-117 to Denver on Friday night. So far, Brooklyn is just 1-2 SU on the second night in back-to-back scenarios this year, posting an average margin of victory number of -8.0.
While I’m not feeling risky enough to take Detroit to snap their 25-game slide, I will take them getting nearly 10 points. I mean, the Nets have dropped five games themselves, and now you want me to lay 9.5 points? I don’t think so. Cade Cunningham (22.2 PPG) and Bojan Bogdanovic (21.1 PPG) should do enough to keep this game close. They’ll be tasked with scoring on a Brooklyn side that has allowed at least 121 points in over the five-game slide.
Give me the Pistons plus the points!
Prediction: Detroit Pistons +9.5 (-110)
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I’ll restate one of the final sentences from above, the Nets have allowed at least 121 points in every game over their current five-game slide. They’ve now slid to 21st in defensive efficiency this season, where they allow 114.7 points per 100 possessions. Meanwhile, the Pistons are 26th in that category, surrendering 117.0 points per 100 possessions. I think both teams find a ton of offensive success in this game, so I’ll play the over.
Interestingly, despite being terrible, the Pistons enjoy playing a faster-paced style. They rank seventh in pace, using 103.2 possessions per game. Brooklyn’s only 20th in that category, sitting at 101.0. However, with a rest advantage for Detroit, I think they’ll be able to instill their faster style here and run the court.
Let’s take the over on Saturday night.
