The Detroit Pistons play the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night in a battle of Central Division leaders. The 15-7 Bucks sit atop the Central Division right now while the 13-8 Pistons are breathing heavily behind their backs.
The Detroit Pistons saw their five game winning streak end at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder in their last game but still, they concluded their six game homestand with a 5-1 record with wins over the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors. The Pistons are 13-8 on the season, are 2nd in the Central Division and 4th in the Eastern Conference standings.
Blake Griffin is having a renaissance in Detroit. He is averaging 24.2 points and 5.0 assists per game to lead the Pistons. Andre Drummond has been a monster off the boards, leading the league in rebounding at 15.9 boards per contest while also scoring 18.3 points per game. Drummond also leads the team with 1.4 steals and 1.8 blocks per game.
The Pistons rank 10th in the NBA in team scoring at 110.2 points per game but they are only 27th in the league in assists with their 21.4 assists per game average. Defensively, Detroit has the 10th best scoring defense in the entire NBA, giving up just 109.2 points per game. They are the 7th best rebounding team in the league with an average of 47.3 rebound per game.
The Milwaukee Bucks are the top team in the Central Division with their 15-7 record and they are also the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference, just 3.5 games back of the Toronto Raptors. The Bucks however are in a bit of a funk as they’ve gone 3-3 in their last six game and are coming off a two point road loss to the New York Knicks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has lived up to his nickname as the Greek Freak as he leads the Bucks in scoring (27.6), rebounding (13.2), passing (6.0) and in steals (1.5). Khris Middleton is providing excellent scoring support at 18.5 points per game while making 3 three pointers per game. Eric Bledsoe is also contributing 15.5 points and 6.0 assists per game for the Bucks who are off to a great start.
Milwaukee is the top scoring team in the league at 121.4 points per game. They are also ranked 2nd in assists at 27.4 dimes per contest. On defense, the Bucks are also the #1 team in rebounding at 50.5 boards per contest. Milwaukee is also giving up 111.3 points per game to rank 18th in that statistical category.
The Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks have played each other a total of 241 times during the regular season. Milwaukee leads the all-time series 129-112 and have won four out of their last six meetings overall. They split their four meetings last season though with each team winning twice in their own home floor.
The Pistons are in excellent form right now and despite being the #1 rebounding team in the league, the Bucks could find themselves in trouble against the Pistons who have a formidable frontline duo of Drummond, the league’s best rebounder and Blake Griffin. John Henson’s absence should put more pressure on Antetokounmpo off the boards and that could have an impact in the Greek Freak’s overall performance.
But The Bucks are a solid 11-2 SU at home this season and 12-6 as betting favorites. Detroit is 4-4 SU on the road this season but you know the Bucks want to bounce back badly from their loss to the lowly Knicks. I think the Pistons are going to give the Bucks a good fight here with Griffin and Drummond but I still think the Greek Freak is going to be the difference in this game. We’re picking the Milwaukee Bucks to beat the Detroit Pistons on 12/5/18.
Detroit is 12-9 ATS in 21 games played this season and the Pistons are 6-2 ATS in 8 road games played so far. The Bucks meanwhile are 11-10-1 ATS in 22 games played during this campaign and are 8-4-1 ATS in 13 home games played so far.
The Bucks have been solid at home this season at 11-2 SU and 8-4-1 ATS. However, they have not been consistent with their winning margins at home as they beat the Bulls by 3, Spurs by 6, Blazers by 43, Nuggets by 6 and Bulls again by 19 most recently. I think the Bucks will win but I’m not laying 8 points on them against the Pistons who are playing very well right now. I’ll take my plus points here and the underdog. Prediction: Pistons +7.5
The over is 11-10 in Detroit’s 21 games played so far but the under is 7-6 in the Pistons’ 13 road games played this season. On the other hand, the over is 15-7 in the 22 games of the Bucks and the total has gone over in 9 out of their 13 home games played.
Anytime you have the top scoring team in the league, you have to think OVER right away. The over is 15-7 in Milwaukee’s 22 games this season including 9-4 at home. Not only is this about the Bucks, the Pistons are the 10th best scoring team in the league right now. I think this is going to be a high scoring affair all the way. Prediction: Over 227.5
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