The Detroit Pistons (21-56) drop by Paycom Center Friday to play the Oklahoma City Thunder (22-54) at 8 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Pistons vs. Thunder odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Detroit snapped a three-game losing skid with a 102-94 upset of the Philadelphia 76ers at home Thursday. The Pistons are just 2-5 straight up (SU) but 5-2 against the spread (ATS) over the past two weeks.
OKC is 2-8 SU but 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games but got crushed at home Wednesday by the Atlanta Hawks 136-118, losing ATS as a 13-point underdog.
The Thunder beat the Pistons 114-103 in Detroit as 3-point underdogs Dec. 6 but OKC’s three-leading scorers in that game will be sidelined for this meeting.
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Pistons at Thunder odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:06 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Pistons -210 (bet $210 to win $100) | Thunder +170 (bet $100 to win $170)
- Against the spread: Pistons -4.5 (-122) | Thunder +4.5 (-102)
- Over/Under: 221.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
Pistons at Thunder key injuries
Pistons (not officially submitted)
- PF Marvin Bagley III (hip) questionable
- PF Jerami Grant (calf) out
Thunder
- PF Darius Bazley (knee) out
- SG Luguentz Dort (shoulder) out
- PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) out
- SF Josh Giddey (hip) out
- PG Tre Mann (hamstring) out
[tipico]
Pistons at Thunder odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Pistons 114, Thunder 104
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” towards the Pistons (-210). The Thunder have the second-best ATS win rate in the NBA so they may keep this one close and laying -210 with a 21-win team is lunacy.
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Against the spread
BET the PISTONS -4.5 (-122) and all the way up to -5.5 because the Thunder are in tank mode.
All of OKC’s top-five scorers are out for this game and the eye-ball test tells me Detroit is playing hard. The Pistons have a young core with PG Cade Cunningham and SF Saddiq Bey whereas none of the Thunder’s starters are rotation players.
Cunningham played for the Oklahoma State Cowboys in college last season so he’ll most likely have friends and family in the stands. He should be at max motivation to ball out versus OKC.
Finally, according to Tipico, this is a Pros vs. Joe’s game in the betting market with the presumed sharp money on the Pistons while the public is backing the Thunder. Since wiseguys wager more money than your average Joe, the money column is typically the sharp side of the market.
BET the PISTONS -4.5 (-122) for 1 unit.
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 221.5 (-115) because Detroit’s defense is ranked sixth in adjusted efficiency over the past two weeks, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG), and has locked up two potent offenses recently in the Hawks and Sixers.
However, OKC’s defense is ranked 25th in adjusted efficiency in the last 14 days, these teams are a combined 37-29 O/U versus teams with a losing record and I feel stronger about Detroit’s spread.
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