Pistons 2023-24 NBA win total odds: Five-victory discrepancy at sportsbooks on Detroit for next season

Now that the 2023 NBA Draft and free agency (for the most part) are in the rearview mirror – although we are still waiting on potential moves for All-Star guards James Harden and Damian Lillard – sportsbooks are starting to post win totals for next season. It's always smart to shop around at books to get the best possible price. We mention that because Caesars Sportsbook has the Detroit Pistons at Over/Under 23.5 wins, yet DraftKings has them at 28.5.

Obviously, if you plan to wager the Under, DK should be your book in this scenario, and Caesars should be the choice if you like the Over. Detroit hasn't won more than 23 games since the 2018-19 campaign and head coach Dwane Casey was dumped after a 17-65 record this past season. The Pistons weren't that bad on talent alone, but did lose 2022 No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham to a season-ending injury after just 12 games.

The Pistons would have won way more than 17 games in Cunningham played the full season. He'll be healthy to start the 2023-24 campaign come October. Detroit did well in the 2022 draft, also landing guard Jaden Ivey and big man Jalen Duren, and both were named to the All-NBA second-team. Ivey is one of five rookies in NBA history to reach his minimums of 1204 points, 387 assists, 288 rebounds and 120 made three-pointers.

The team also made a big trade during the season with the acquisition of center James Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft by Golden State. Wiseman fell out of favor with the Warriors but looked like a new player with the Pistons. He had seven double-doubles with Detroit after logging just three in his first 60 career games with Golden State.

In this year's draft, the Pistons took G-League swingman Ausar Thompson at No. 5 overall. He's +3000 to win NBA Rookie of the Year. They also recently traded for veteran Nets shooting guard Joe Harris, although he could be traded again if Detroit isn't in playoff contention. The same goes for 20-point scorer Bojan Bogdanovic, who surprisingly wasn't dealt at the 2023 trade deadline.

The Pistons have upgraded their leadership with former Suns coach Monty Williams. The team wanted him so bad it gave Williams a record six-year, $78.5 million deal even though he had recently been fired by Phoenix. Williams won 63% of his games over four seasons with the Suns and took home a Coach of the Year Award, but they were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals two years in a row.

While Detroit's win total of 23.5 is the lowest on the board at Caesars, tanking Washington has the lowest win total of 24.5 at DraftKings. This writer happens to think the DK number of 28.5 wins for Detroit is more accurate (if the team stays healthy) than 23.5. 

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