The Detroit Pistons head to the Big Easy for a showdown with the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on Monday night.
The Pistons are in a bit of a groove right now with three wins in their last four games. Detroit is having a monster season from Andre Drummond and a healthier Blake Griffin is giving this team a big lift in recent games. The Pistons are 9-14 on the season and in third place in the Central Division. On the other hand, the Pelicans continue to struggle without top rookie Zion Williamson. New Orleans has lost eight straight games heading to this home contest. The Pelicans heads home after a 46 points loss in Dallas and they are just 4-8 at home this season.
With Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond having big games, the Detroit Pistons won for the third time in four games as they defeated the Indiana Pacers 108-101 on Friday night in Detroit. Griffin scored 25 points while Drummond notched the 37th 20-20 game of his career with 25 points and 22 rebounds.
Drummond is having a monster season averaging 17.0 points, 17.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 2.0 blocks per game. Luke Kennard is contributing 16.4 points while Derrick Rose is putting up 15.8 points and a team-high 5.7 assists per game. Blake Griffin is scoring 19.4 points per game but he has played only 11 games this season.
The Pistons are 18th in the NBA in scoring at 108.7 points per game scored. They are 24th in passing at 43.0 boards grabbed per contest and Detroit is 9th in passing at 25.3 dimes per outing. The Pistons are allowing their opponents to score only 108.5 points per game this season.
The New Orleans Pelicans are looking to bounce back after suffering a horrible 46-point beating at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night in Dallas. The loss was New Orleans’ 9th in 11 road games and their 8th consecutive defeat overall. The Pelicans are 6-17 on the season and at the bottom of the Southwest Division standings.
Brandon Ingram is having a career-season with 24.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Jrue Holiday leads the team in assists at 6.7 dimes per contest and he is the second-leading scorer at 19.2 points per game. J.J. Redick, Josh Hart, and Lonzo Ball are also scoring in double figures for the Pelicans.
The Pelicans rank 10th in offense at 113.2 points per game scored this season. They are also 19th off the glass with an average of 44.3 rebounds per game and are 12th in passing at 24.6 assists per contest. New Orleans has the 2nd worst scoring defense this season at 120.2 points per game allowed.
Detroit is 3-1 SU in their last four games played. The Pistons are 1-9 SU in their last 10 games played on the road. New Orleans is 0-8 SU in their last eight games played. The Pelicans are 4-8 SU in a dozen home games played this season. Head to head, the Pelicans are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games played against the Pistons. New Orleans is also 9-1 SU in their last 10 home games against Detroit.
The Pistons are off to a slow start but that’s because their key players like Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose have missed a considerable number of games. Markieff Morris is out of this game for Detroit but with Griffin playing, they have won three out of their last four games played.
New Orleans continues to miss Zion Williamson and despite a career season from Brandon Ingram, they are at the bottom of the standings. The Pelicans have lost eight straight games and are coming off a humiliating 46-point defeat at the hands of Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.
The Pistons haven’t been good on the road this season and the Pelicans have dominated this matchup in the last 10 games. However, New Orleans is just struggling so badly right now and they have lost 8 in a row. I don’t like Detroit but I can’t trust the Pelicans. The Pistons also have the more experienced lineup here with Drummond, Griffin, and Rose. I like the Pistons to pick up the road win here.
PREDICTION: DETROIT PISTONS
The Pistons are 9-12-2 ATS in 23 games played this season. Detroit is 2-7-2 ATS in 11 home games played this year, and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 Monday games. The Pelicans are 0-5 ATS in their last five games played. New Orleans is 1-10 ATS in their last 11 games played against the Eastern Conference, 1-9 ATS in their last 10 December games, and 6-6 ATS in 12 home games played so far this season. Head to head, the Pelicans are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games played against the Pistons.
New Orleans has outscored Detroit by an average of 6.0 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 6.33 points per game in their previous three encounters. Detroit has its Big 3 back with Griffin, Drummond and Rose all in active duty for this game. New Orleans continues to have a hard time winning games and they are having troubles scoring points in their last five games.
PREDICTION: PISTONS +2
The total has gone over in four out of the last five games played by the PIstons. Detroit has seen the total go over in six out of their 11 games played this season. The total has gone under in five out of the last six games played by the Pelicans. The under is 5-1 in New Orleans’ last six home games played, and the over is 6-2 in their last eight games played against the Central Division. Head to head, these teams have seen the total go under in six out of their last 10 meetings.
These teams have combined to score an average of 207.2 points per game in their last 10 meetings, and 212.33 points per game in their last three head to head encounters. The Detroit defense has allowed 103 or fewer points in seven out of their last 10 games played. The Pelicans’ offense has scored 104 or fewer points in four out of their last five games played. New Orleans has a leaky defense but they have not been able to score enough points in recent games. Detroit’s defense has been solid and they prefer a low-scoring game. I like these teams to go under.
PREDICTION: UNDER 226.5
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