Pistons vs. Hawks: NBA odds, prediction, best bets
Detroit hosts Atlanta in their second NBA In-Season Tournament game. The Pistons are misfiring: they bring an eight-game losing streak into this contest against the Hawks. That’s why Atlanta is favored by as much as 4.5 points.
Losing games? Missing last-second shots? Suffering under the weight of injuries? It hasn’t mattered for NBA sportsbook betting on the Pistons because we’ve been careful with our basketball wagering. Our last three Best Bets have won, and we’re up $170 on the season, even if the Pistons are sinking fast toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
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Dating back to the dismal end to last season, the Pistons are now 3-21 in their last 24 games. That’s not how you engender goodwill with the fanbase. But there is reason to believe this season is much different than recent history for this franchise. The team has a dynamic new coach, Monty Williams, who has a plan, and the skill to weather the predictable adversity as he implements it.
Last season, Detroit lost to Atlanta in all four games between these two teams. In only one of those games last season were the Pistons even within five points in the fourth quarter. But, the steady progress of big man Jalen Duren makes Detroit a different opponent in the paint. That’s why an upset could be on tap Tuesday in the Motor City. Especially if the Pistons can fix a few critical issues.
Detroit is the sloppiest team in the league: they lead in personal fouls, and they are second in turnovers. As a result, Detroit’s opponents shoot the most free throws in the league, and the Pistons have a -9 margin in free throws taken. Detroit is losing by an average five points.
Williams and his staff need to remedy the undisciplined play, and get Detroit’s possession ratio in alignment. You can’t score without the ball, and the Pistons are on the bad side of a 103-99 possession rate per game. Given the fact that the Pistons rank 26th in the NBA in three-point shots taken, that means this team is essentially trying to chase the other team uphill.
This detrimental status of Detroit’s possession rate is a big reason we want to stay away from player parlays that include points scored. You just don’t know, at this point, how many good shots a Pistons player might take on a given night.
That’s three wins in a row with our Best Bets, and we’re back with what we think will be another winner for Pistons fans:
- Hawks To Win By 1-10 Points, +170 from FanDuel Sportsbook
Atlanta has won by an average of 11.5 points in its five victories… The Hawks are 3-6 Against The Spread, and 2-2 as the Favorite… The Pistons are 5-6 Against The Spread.
- Swishes: 4
- Airballs: 3
- Bankroll: Plus $170
Pains us to admit it, but Detroit’s offense is over-reliant on Cade Cunningham and the shooting of the surprise of the season, Marcus Strasser. This is a very young, very green team: only two players over 23 are getting any minutes at all.
The scoring has gotten so dreadful that the team welcomed exiled Kevin Knox, who scored 18 in Sunday’s loss to Chicago. Knox is a useful power forward who can handle the ball well and get off a nice mid-range jumper now and again, but he’s hardly a lynchpin.
No, the Pistons will not be who they are meant to be until the young core of players, led by Cunningham, Duren, Jaden Ivey, and Isaiah Stewart get with the Williams program. The sloppy play so far this season points to more L’s while this roster gets acclimated to a new system.
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