Pistons vs. Kings: Preview, prediction, and best bets
It can take 40 games to understand the betting trends of an NBA team, and with Detroit closing in on that milestone, we know more about the team. Detroit isn’t going to the playoffs, but there are still many chances to increase your winnings with Michigan’s top sportsbooks.
The Pistons’ porous defense and sloppy ball-handling allow opponents to score oodles of baskets. That means the over is a good choice most of the time. They defend decently in the paint, which means the O/U can depend a lot on how well their opponent shoots from outside.
That’s why the O/U has been inconsistent. Still, Detroit is allowing the fifth-most points in the NBA. Sharp NBA bettors will have noticed that Detroit has covered the spread in their last 3 games.
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- Detroit is 14-21-1 Against The Spread (ATS).
- Detroit is 3-0 ATS in its last 3 games and 5-5 in its last 10.
- In 5 of the last 7 games where Detroit has won ATS, the UNDER has hit.
- The Kings have failed to cover the spread in 5 of the last 7 games where they were favorites.
- Despite a winning record (21-14), the Kings have a negative point differential. They have won three overtime games and five additional games by 5 points or less.
On Sunday, Detroit’s former No. 1 overall draft selection Cade Cunningham hobbled off the court with an apparent serious knee injury. If Cunningham is out of the rotation for an extended time, head coach Monty Williams will need to locate offense from elsewhere.
Given the tepid support Williams has shown Jaden Ivey thus far, it’s not safe to assume the second-year guard will get more touches or even increased playing time. We’re not sure what’s going on between the two, but it seems there is some sort of rift.
Ivey is the best scoring option the team has after Cunningham, but he’s only started 16 games and is averaging 25 minutes per.
That’s hardly enough court time to get into a groove. The former Purdue Boilermaker has a legitimate reason to beef over his usage under Williams. Now, with Cunningham seemingly shelved (at least for a while), Monty may not have a choice but to let Ivey touch the rock more.
This means we should all be watching the player props for Ivey. For example, if you can get good prices on Ivey’s 12 points per game, we’d recommend it, especially when the Pistons face a Western Conference opponent, where points tend to be easier to get.
The Kings are fifth in the Western Conference, but that’s misleading. This is a team that’s been outscored almost halfway through the schedule. The Kings can only keep getting by with close wins for so long.
Eventually, Sacramento will be exposed for what they are: a decent team with a fast-motor guard in De’Aaron Fox, who is experiencing a career year. Without Cunningham, the Pistons may not have any firepower to hold down Fox, which is why we like the Over on points for the Kings’ guard.
Fox is averaging 28.3 PPG, but he’s coming off his worst performance of the season: three points vs. Pelicans on Sunday. But sadly for Pistons fans, their team is just the remedy for a great player coming off a bad shooting night.
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- Swishes: 11
- Airballs: 8
- Bankroll: +$260
Detroit has been playing much more like a competitive NBA team of late: the Pistons are 3-0 ATS in their last three games. For the season, the Pistons have come in at 40.3% winners ATS. Two teams, the Hawks and Suns, have been worse.
Hobbled and humbled, the Pistons will be undermanned at home against the Kings, a team that they do not match up well against. The Pistons are methodical and half-dimensional on offense (that’s half of one-dimensional), and without Cade Cunningham (probably) on Tuesday, this should be a very long evening. A 12-15 point loss might even be considered a success.
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