LA Clippers at Detroit Pistons odds, picks and predictions

The Los Angeles Clippers (19-15) battle the Detroit Pistons (8-27) Monday. Tip from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit is set for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Clippers vs. Pistons odds, and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.

The Clippers lost 119-114 Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers, failing to cover as 3.5-point road underdogs despite taking a 12-point lead into half. The Clippers are 6-2 against the spread (ATS) in their last 8 games. They rank top 5 in opponents’ points per game (107.9), opponents’ field goal percentage (45.3%), and opponents’ 3-point field goal percentage (33.9%).

The Pistons, who are playing the rest of the season without former No. 1 overall pick G Cade Cunningham, lost 130-105 on the road in Atlanta Friday, not even coming close to covering as 9.5-point road underdogs. Detroit is 16-16-3 ATS on the season and 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.

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Clippers at Pistons odds

Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Sunday at 11:01 p.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): Clippers -190 (bet $190 to win $100) | Pistons +160 (bet $100 to win $160)
Against the spread (ATS): Clippers -4.5 (-115) | Pistons +4.5 (-105)
Over/Under (O/U): 221.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Clippers at Pistons key injuries

Clippers

F Kawhi Leonard (knee) out

Pistons

G Cade Cunningham (tibia) out

For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.

Clippers at Pistons picks and predictions

Prediction

Clippers 110, Pistons 105

Moneyline

PASS.

I’ll back the Clippers here, but at (-190) on the road, they don’t have any value to win outright. In similar fashion, the Pistons are just 4-12 straight up at home, so (+160) isn’t even enough value to make them playable.

Against the spread

LEAN CLIPPERS -4.5 (-115).

The Pistons just haven’t played up to par recently. They have lost 5 straight games with 3 of those coming at home. Even in the 3 home games, they still lost 2 of the 3 by 9 or more points.

Detroit’s offense just hasn’t been able to keep pace, ranking 26th in points per game (110.6) and 28th in field goal percentage (44.8%). Chances are it struggles against an elite Clippers’ defense.

LA has also been surging, covering 6 of its last 8. Its defense is better, and even without Leonard, a lineup the Clippers should be used to, F Paul George can provide high-level scoring.

Ultimately, the only way to play this is backing the CLIPPERS -4.5 (-115), but I would prefer playing the total as this does stink of a trap line for LA.

Over/Under

BET UNDER 221.5 (-110).

The Clippers are 2-4 O/U in their last 6 games, and in the 2 games that went over, 1 was against a side led by G LaMelo Ball, who likes to push the pace, and the other was against G James Harden, who dropped a career-high 21 assists.

LA is 13-21 O/U on the season and will be without Leonard, who is a key scoring option. The Pistons are 5-5 O/U in their last 10 and have scored 105 or fewer in their last 2 games.

Detroit, without Cunningham, doesn’t have the playmaking to keep pace with LA, and against a side with George and F Marcus Morris Sr., both of whom should have success against Detroit’s top scorer F Bojan Bogdanovic, expect Detroit to struggle.

Considering the trends and the lack of scoring for Detroit, back the UNDER 221.5 (-110).

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