The Detroit Pistons pay a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Saturday night.
The Detroit Pistons have been in a rut as they were riding a four-game losing streak before they snapped out of it with a much-needed 134-120 road win over the Magic on Thursday. Saddiq Bey drained 10 3-pointers to lead the team with a career-high 51 points on 17 of 27 shooting, Marvin Bagley added 20 points with 11 rebounds while Isaiah Stewart chipped in with 16 points and 10 rebounds. As a team, the Pistons shot 50 percent from the field and 20 of 43 from the 3-point line as they poured in 73 points in the first half to take the early double-digit lead and their lead remained at double-digits for almost the entire game as they rode the hot hand of Bey.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in decent shape as they’ve won four of their last seven games overall and they will be eager to stay hot after outlasting the Nuggets in a 119-116 overtime win last night. Lauri Markkanen led the team with 31 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, Evan Mobley added 27 points with 11 rebounds and two blocks while Darius Garland chipped in with 25 points and 14 assists. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 44 percent from the field and 14 of 37 from the 3-point line as they rallied all the way back from an early 14-point deficit in the first half, before escaping in overtime thanks to a clutch 3-pointer from Markkanen with just 28.3 seconds left on the clock.
Looking at the betting trends, the Pistons are 7-0 ATS in their last seven road games, 7-0 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 12-1 ATS in their last 13 games overall. The Cavaliers are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six games playing on zero days’ rest, 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team below .400.
Head to head, the over is 12-3-2 in the last 17 meetings overall and the Pistons are 2-9 ATS in the last 11 meetings in Cleveland.
The Pistons will again be without Hamidou Diallo and Frank Jackson, while Killian Hayes and Cade Cunningham are both listed as questionable. The Cavaliers are also shorthanded as Dean Wade and Rajon Rondo are both still out. The Pistons were really struggling to hang with teams before their win over the Magic thanks to a career night from Bey, but with Cunningham still out, the Pistons are going to need another big game to hang with the Cavaliers. This is a tough one to pick, but while I like the Cavaliers to get the win despite playing on zero days’ rest, I’m leaning towards the Pistons to hang around long enough to get the cover in this one.