Heat vs Pistons Prediction NBA Picks 3/17/24

Detroit Pistons (12-53) vs Miami Heat (35-30)

Game Info: Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 3:00 pm (Little Caesars Arena)

Betting Odds: Detroit Pistons +6.5 -- Over/Under: 215

The Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons meet Sunday in NBA action at the Little Caesars Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Miami Heat vs Detroit Pistons prediction.

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat have been in poor form as they've lost six of their last nine games overall, but they will be eager to build some momentum after snapping a four-game slide with a 108-95 road win on Friday. Bam Adebayo led the team with 22 points, nine assists and three blocks on 10 of 14 shooting, Terry Rozier and Caleb Martin each scored 18 points while Duncan Robinson chipped in with 16 points and five assists. As a team, the Heat shot 47 percent from the field and seven of 34 from the 3-point line as they struggled to get any separation from the pesky Pistons, until they played great defense to hold the Pistons to just 18 points in the third quarter to lead by as many as 21 points and escape with the much-needed victory.

Detroit Pistons

Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons have been in decent shape as they've won three of their last five games overall, but they will be out for revenge in this one after getting run over the Heat on Friday. Simone Fontecchio led the team with 24 points on nine of 16 shooting, Jalen Duren added 15 points with 17 rebounds on seven of nine shooting while Jaden Ivey chipped in with 14 points and nine assists on three of 14 shooting. As a team, the Pistons shot just 42 percent from the field and 10 of 38 from the 3-point line as showed plenty of fight to hang with the Heat in a closely contested first half, before they got completely blown out in the third quarter. Cade Cunningham had a quiet game of just 11 points on five of 15 shooting while Marcus Sasser scored just three points on one of six shooting off the bench. The Pistons will take on the Celtics after this one.

Detroit Pistons Player Facts

• Jalen Duren ranks 1st in the Eastern Conference amongst qualified players for rebounds per game (12.0) this season.
• Simone Fontecchio ranks 13th in the Eastern Conference amongst qualified players for 3P% (40.4%) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Pistons rank 30th in the league for steals per game this season (6.2).
• The Pistons rank 30th in the league for opponent steals per game this season (9.0).
• The Heat rank 30th in the league for blocks per game this season (3.5).
• The Heat rank T3rd in the league for opponent offensive rebounds per game this season (9.4).

Miami Heat vs Detroit Pistons prediction

The Heat have ruled out Kevin Love and Tyler Herro again with Jimmy Butler listed as questionable, while the Pistons are still without Quentin Grimes and Ausar Thompson for this one. Both teams are banged up again, but while the Pistons have come to life with three wins in their past five outings, I'm still a little more comfortable going with the Heat to get the job done despite missing some key players.

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.