Detroit Pistons (21-40 SU 25-32-4 ATS) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (48-14 SU 32-29-1 ATS) Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH 7 PM EST Friday March 5, 2010 on ESPN
by Jason Green at Predictem.com
Point Spread: Pistons +12.5 / Cavaliers -12.5
Over/Under: 199
Tonight the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers host the ice cold Detroit Pistons. The Cavs have won 5 straight, are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and have the best record in the NBA. Things have not gone as well for the Pistons, to say the least, as they have lost 5 straight and are only 3-7 in their last 10 games. The Cavs are running away with the Eastern Conference and the playoffs are a major long shot for the Pistons.
It does not look good for the Pistons tonight, as they not only play the Cavs and gave up 128 points to the New York Knicks in their last game, but in Cleveland’s 5-game winning streak they are averaging 114.8 ppg on 52.3% shooting.
This season the Cavs are a NBA best 26-4 at home and the Pistons are far from legit away from the Motor City going 7-23 on the road.
The Cavs have won 4 straight against the Pistons.
The Cavs have not missed a beat since they lost Shaq for at least 6 weeks, as backup J.J. Hickson has been solid in the Diesel’s absence. In his last 2 games Hickson scored 17 points and had 9 boards and 20 points and 13 boards respectively.
In their last game the Cavaliers beat the New Jersey Nets 111-92 on Wednesday night. LeBron James was the high scorer for Cleveland in the game going for 26 points on 10/18 shooting and he also dished out 14 assists. For the game the Cavs shot well going for 44/85 for a legit FG% of 51.8%. On defense the Cavs played great holding the Nets to only 33.84 from the floor for a paltry FG% of 39.3%.
The Pistons were killed in their last game losing 128-104 to the New York Knicks also on Wednesday night. Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey were the high scorers for Detroit in the game each going for 16 points. For the game the Pistons shot 41/89 for a FG% of 46.1%. The Pistons must have their defense at home, as they allowed the Knicks to shoot 47/85 for a FG% of 55.3%.
According to the Sagarin NBA ratings the Cavs rank 1st (97.09) and the Pistons rank 27th (85.41).
On the injury front the Pistons are really banged up as F Tayshaun Prince, F Chris Wilcox, C Ben Wallace, SG Richard Hamilton, and PG Will Bynum are day-to-day for Detroit and SG Delonte West and PG Daniel Gibson are day-to-day and C Shaquille O’Neal is Out for Cleveland.
Detroit is 6-13 ATS in their last 19 road games, 5-13 ATS in their last 18 games as a road underdog, and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a road underdog of 11 points or more.
Detroit has an Over of 6-2 in their last 8 games against teams with a home winning record, an Under record of 7-3 in their last 10 games as an underdog, and an Over record of 4-1 in their last 5 games after a loss.
Cleveland is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a favorite, 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games following an ATS win, and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games against teams with a losing record.
Cleveland has an Over record of 4-0 in their last 4 games, and Over record of 5-1-1 in their last 7 games as a home favorite, and an Over record of 7-2 in their last 9 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than 40%.
The total has gone under in 17 of the last 21 games between these 2 teams in Cleveland and the Pistons are only 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games in Cleveland.
Jason’s Pick: The Cavs have been killing the bottom-feeders lately and the Pistons definitely fit in that category. To add insult to injury, no pun intended, many Detroit players are nursing minor injuries and are not 100%. I think the Cavs will come out early and take care of business and just cruise the rest of the way. The Cavs will easily win this game and cover the spread.
