New Orleans Pelicans vs Detroit Pistons NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 2/24/21
2021-02-24 20:00:00 EDT
The Detroit Pistons invade the Smoothie King Center to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.
The Detroit Pistons have been in decent form as they’ve split their last eight games and they will be looking to build some momentum after snapping a three-game skid with a 105-93 road win over the Magic last night. Saben Lee led the team with 21 points and four assists off the bench, Josh Jackson added 18 points, Jerami Grant scored 17 points with six assists while Dennis Smith Jr. chipped in with 14 points on six of nine shooting. As a team, the Pistons shot 46 percent from the field and 10 of 34 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 34 points in the first quarter, before taking control of the game in the third quarter where they held the Magic to just 14 points to lead by as many as 20 points before easing off in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in a bit of a rut lately as they’ve lost five of their last seven games, but they will be looking to stay hot after outlasting the Celtics in a 120-115 overtime home win on Sunday. Brandon Ingram led the team with 33 points on 11 of 22 shooting, Zion Williamson added 28 points with 10 rebounds and four assists while Josh Hart chipped in wit 17 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks off the bench. As a team, the Pelicans shot 44 percent from the field and 11 of 36 from the 3-point line as they struggled for most of the game to fall behind by as many as 24 points, before pulling away in the overtime period where they held the Celtics to just seven points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Pistons are 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 road games, 5-0 ATS in their last five games playing on zero days’ rest and 1-7-1 ATS in their last nine games against a team with a losing record. The Pelicans are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games playing on two days’ rest, 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team below .400 and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall.
Head to head, the under is 12-5 in the last 17 meetings in New Orleans.
Steven Adams is expected to return on Wednesday after missing the last two games with an ankle sprain. The Pistons are actually the team in better form in this matchup, but the Pelicans are clearly the team with more talent. I’m tempted to take the Pistons with the hefty start here, but the Pistons are just 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 road games and they’re playing on zero days’ rest, so I’m leaning towards the Pelicans to make this one a blowout.
