The Detroit Pistons hit the road and travel to the Spectrum Center to take on the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.
Detroit is coming off its biggest win of the season after defeating the defending champions Milwaukee Bucks 115-106 at the Fiserv Forum as +17 points spread and +1100 Moneyline underdogs. That win however was the first for the Pistons in their last 11 road games and only their 7th win overall in the season. Detroit has the second-worst record in the NBA with only the Orlando Magic sitting lower in the team standings.
Charlotte has dropped two straight, getting blown out by the Suns at this venue while losing by three points to the Washington Wizards on the road. The Hornets are currently third in the Southeast Division with their 19-19 SU record and are four games behind the leaders Miami Heat. If the playoffs began today, Charlotte would be the East’s 8th seed and will need to win in the play-in tournament to enter the postseason
Saddiq Bey scored a career-high 34 points on 8-13 three-point shooting as the Pistons upset the Bucks the last time out. Josh Jackson had a big game off the bench with 24 points on 9-13 shooting while Cade Cunnhigham added 19 points including a big three-pointer down the stretch that helped seal the win. The Pistons also got 11 points each from Trey Lyles and Hamidou Diallo.
Detroit ranks 29th in scoring at only 101.9 points per game this season. The Pistons are 26th in rebounding at 43.2 boards grabbed per contest and 27th in passing at 21.7 assists per game. They are ranked 21st in the entire NBA in scoring defense at 110.1 points per game allowed.
Charlotte came up short against Washington in their last game. Gordon Hayward had a big night with 27 points and 8 rebounds while Terry Rozier added 25 points and Miles Bridges 23 with 14 rebounds. LaMelo Ball also contributed 18 points but Charlotte only got a total of 20 points from its bench. The Hornets conceded 31 free throws and the Wizards ended up making 21 more foul shots which was really the difference in the game.
The Hornets are the no. 2 scoring team in the NBA at 114.9 points per game this season. They are 23rd in rebounding at 43.6 boards grabbed per contest and are third in passing at 26.8 assists per game. Charlotte is dead-last when it comes to scoring defense as they allow a league-high 116.7 points per game.
The Pistons are 3-17 SU in their last 20 games played. Detroit is 1-10 SU in their last 11 games played on the road, The Hornets are 4-6 SU in their last 10 games played. Charlotte is 9-5 SU in 14 home games played this season, and 5-2 SU in their last seven Wednesday games.
Head to head, Charlotte Hornets are 10-0 SU in their last 10 games against the Detroit Pistons.
This isn’t the season to bet on the Pistons as they have the second-worst record in the league. The Pistons are next to last in scoring and are 21st in scoring defense. However, this team is coming off the biggest upset of the season when they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks as +17 point underdogs in their previous game.
The Hornets are the league’s worst defensive team and are allowing the most points per game. But that won’t be too much of an issue against a Detroit team that is next to last in putting up points on the scoreboard. Charlotte was won three out of their last five games and have averaged 115 points at home while shooting at a 48% clip.
I don’ think the Detroit defense can stop the Charlotte offense from scoring. The Pistons’ offense cannot match Charlotte’s firepower too so I think this is going to be a win for the home team.
Prediction: Charlotte Hornets
Detroit is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Pistons are 3-2 ATS in their last five games played on the road, 4-0 ATS in their last four road games against an opponent with a winning home record, 4-1 ATS in their last five road games against an opponent with a home winning percentage better than .600, 17-35-2 ATS in their last 54 games after an ATS win, and 14-35-2 ATS in their last 51 games after a straight-up win.
Charlotte is 10-5 ATS in their last 15 games played. The Hornets are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games played at home, 5-1 ATS in their last six games against the Eastern Conference, 6-1 ATS in their last seven games at home against an opponent with a road winning percentage below .400, 4-1 ATS in their last five games after scoring more than 100 points in their previous game, 7-2 ATS in their last nine games after a straight-up loss, 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games when playing on one day rest, and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games when their opponent allows more than 100 points in their previous game.
The Hornets are 7-2 ATS in the last 9 meetings between these two teams. Charlotte is also 4-1 ATS in their last five home games against Detroit.
The Pistons have lost 11 out of their last 10 games played on the road but when it comes to covering the betting spread, the Pistons are 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games played, including 3-2 ATS in five road games. Detroit is coming off a massive win over the Bucks and while it would be foolish to fall in love with the Pistons after that win, it’s not a bad idea to back them in a game where the Hornets need to win by double digits.
There’s no question that Charlotte is the better basketball team, and they are, by a mile. However, the Hornets haven’t really hit their stride since becoming healthy and they have won at home by an average margin of 2 points per game. I trust the Hornets to win this game 100% but I’m not sure if they can win by double digits and cover this spread. I’ll take the plus points here.
Prediction: Pistons +9.5
The total has gone over in six out of the last 10 games played by the Pistons. The over is 3-2 in Detroit’s last five games played on the road, 18-8 in their last 26 Wednesday games, 5-1 in their last six road games after scoring more than 100 points in their previous game, and 6-5 in Detroit’s last 11 games against opponents from the Eastern Conference.
The total has gone over in six out of the Hornets’ last seven games after an ATS loss. The over is also 7-1-1 in their last nine games when playing on one day rest, 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight-up loss, 7-2 in their last nine games against an opponent with a winning percentage below .400, 5-2-1 in their last eight home games against teams from the Eastern conference, and 8-5-1 in their last 14 games played at home.
Charlotte is only the worst defensive team in the league, allowing 116.7 points per ball game. The Hornets are also the second-highest scoring squad in the NBA this season at 114.9 points per game. Detroit is a low-scoring team but with the Charlotte defense non-existent, they are bound to score more than their season scoring average.
The Pistons have scored more than 110 points in three out of their last five games and at least 115 in their last two so despite their season averages, this is a team that can put up points if given the chance. No question they get good scoring chances against the Hornets.
Prediction: Over 227.5
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