The New Orleans Pelicans travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons with a chance to get back into the playoff race in the Western Conference.
Who: New Orleans Pelicans vs Detroit Pistons
When: Monday, Jan. 13, 7:00 p.m ET
Where: Smoothie King Center
How to watch: Fox Sports New Orleans
After being blown out on the road on Saturday, the New Orleans Pelicans end their road trip on Monday with a chance for a bounceback win in Detroit. The Pistons are a side plummeting quickly, having won just three of their last 14 games.
As the Pelicans continue to battle back into the playoff race, the good news is that the rest of the bottom of the Western Conference has done nothing to separate itself. New Orleans remains four games back of the eighth seed.
In Detroit, the Pelicans have another opportunity to take a step back into the playoff race again. In the last meeting between the two sides, a Derrick Rose jumper late was the difference. But since that game, Detroit has ranked last in the league in defensive effective field goal percentage, per Cleaning the Glass. Likewise, the team is last in the defensive rating since that game and 29th in net rating.
Previewing Monday’s New Orleans Pelicans at Detroit Pistons sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.
The New Orleans Pelicans (14-26) visit the Detroit Pistons (14-26) Monday at Little Caesars Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET. We analyze the Pelicans-Pistons sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
The Pistons are the 11th in the Eastern Conference, while the Pelicans are 14th in the west.
The PELICANS (-106) have begun digging themselves out of a deep hole in the standings, as they’ve won seven of their last 10 games, though, they were routed 140-105 by the Boston Celtics Saturday. They’re 7-14 on the road for the season. The Pistons (-115) have the more dire injury concerns and they’ve won just three of their last 10 games, including back-to-back losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers (115-112) and Chicago Bulls (108-99) Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
Detroit is just 8-12 at home for the season. Back the visitors, especially if Favors, Holiday and/or Redick are able to suit up.
Stick with the more profitable moneyline and PASS on the spread, with the Pelicans (+1.5, -106) getting just one point of insurance in the event of a loss as the underdogs. New Orleans is 18-20-2 against the spread overall and 8-11-2 on the road, while Detroit (-1.5, EVEN) is 14-25-1 ATS overall and 8-11 at home.
The Pistons claimed a 105-103 victory in the season’s first head-to-head meeting in Nola, but Favors was out of the lineup the first time around.
Take the UNDER 224.5 (+105). Both sides are riddled with injuries and entering off of a day of rest. Expect inefficient shooting performances and tighter defensive play from both teams. The Pistons have been held below 100 points in two of their last four games.
Esten’s NBA betting record: 139-108
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With the Detroit Pistons reportedly open to trading any player on their roster, there are several NOT named Andre Drummond the Boston Celtics should consider.
January is a month of reckoning for NBA front offices.
Teams are starting to reassess their goals from the start of the season, with the month being the last run of games a franchise can take stock of how well the parts they started the season work together, and whether changes need to be made.
For some teams, the month won’t be needed, and the Detroit Pistons have made up their mind they are one such club.
With a 14-26 record and All-NBA forward Blake Griffin likely to miss the rest of the season with the same knee issues that ended his 2018-19 run, it’s clear the team won’t be competing for postseason success.
And with star center Andre Drummond all but certain to opt out of the final season of his current deal, it makes sense the team has been looking to move the big man while he still might have trade value.
Several league folks have told me #Pistons willing to talk trade on any player on the roster so not surprising. https://t.co/OzqSzWfbdZ
The Boston Celtics have been linked to the UConn product, but the assets likely needed to deal for the former Husky don’t make much sense for the Massachusetts franchise.
Team president Danny Ainge has made it clear he won’t trade away key players for a short-term rental, and with Drummond making $27 million this season on an expiring deal, a trade for Big Penguin is unlikely.
However, the Detroit Free Press’ Vincent Goodwill reports the team will listen to trade proposals about any player on the roster, and there are a few the Celtics should consider making calls about.
Detroit has several players on affordable contracts who might be able to help the Celtics in the postseason, but some may come at too high a cost for the team to reasonably hope to pry them away, while others may not be such a good fit for Boston’s style of play.
Derrick Rose, for example, would be an intriguing backup point guard for Boston, but much of the success driving his resurgence with the Pistons is due to his adept ability as a pick-and-roll player, which the Celtics do not use often in head coach Brad Stevens’ pace-and-space system.
Third-year shooting guard Luke Kennard could be an interesting option, but the price might be steep due to his age (just 23) and excellent shooting — he’s 40.2 % from beyond the arc over his career, and logged 6.5 attempts a game last season.
His defense is bad, but he’s young and would play on the second unit alongside Marcus Smart, mitigating what you’d lose on that end of the court.
Finding a match for $3.8 million Kennard is owed this season would be uncomplicated. That he has another year afterwards for a bargain $5.2 million would make some difficult payroll decisions involving Gordon Hayward potentially easier to weather.
Should the Celtics pursue Markieff Morris if he’s bought out? I would say yes. Am I saying that because I hope his quotes would be as good as Marcus’ quotes?
Forward Markieff Morris might offer many of the same benefits on the offensive end of the court with the twin of former Celtic Marcus logging a career-high 40.2 % from beyond the arc on nine attempts per season.
While his defense isn’t as good as Mook’s, he’s also a big body who could help with filling the frontcourt. Earning just $3.2 million, he’s also easy to match salaries with, and would likely only require a younger player and a second-round pick to secure.
Fourth-year center Thon Maker could be an interesting depth big target, a serviceable rim protector against the reserve lineups he’d mostly face. His low salary ($3.5 million) and ability to stretch the floor a bit are added perks.
Center Christian Wood is another target on the Pistons Boston could go after.
Only earning $1.6 million, the 24-year-old journeyman has been pulling down 5.2 boards and blocking 0.8 block per contest over just 16.8 minutes per game while hitting 35.7 % of his 3-pointers at 1.6 attempts per game.
None of these players will catapult Boston into the realm of title favorites, but there may not be such a trade out there anyway.
But, there may be trades to be made around the margins that could help set the stage for a balanced roster in future seasons while raising the team’s floor this season — if not with Detroit, then the next team to cautiously wave the white flag on the current season.
Expect a team or two each week this month to come to terms with the reality of their record and roster as we inch closer to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
While a trade that gives both instant gratification and concrete results may simply be out of reach, the natural arc of the NBA season should shake out intriguing trade and buyout option over the next several weeks.
HoopsHype ranks the five players who have popped up the most in trade rumors over the past week, including Kevin Love and Andre Drummond.
There hasn’t been a shortage of NBA trade rumors over the past week, and as we get closer to February, the scuttle will only continue to become more frequent, a trend we’re already starting to see now, in early January.
Below, HoopsHype ranks the five players who have popped up the most in rumors on the site’s Trade page over the past week.
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
5. DEWAYNE DEDMON, SACRAMENTO
Following his trade request, Sacramento Kings big man Dewayne Dedmon was fined $50,000 by the NBA for making “public statements detrimental to the NBA and its teams.”
Surprisingly enough, however, Dedmon returned to the Kings’ rotation on Jan. 7, likely due to the plethora of injuries to Sacramento’s frontcourt rotation, and acquitted himself nicely, dropping 12 points, 10 rebounds and one three-pointer while posting a plus-33 plus/minus.
That type of audition could make Dedmon more appealing to the contending teams searching for a big man who can space the floor and protect the paint, but his price tag (he’s on Year-1 of a three-year, $40 million contract with a partial guarantee on the final season) could scare some of the interested parties away.
For what it’s worth, the Kings are reportedly willing to hear offers on the big man, but won’t take back bad salary that could hurt their future cap flexibility, per NBC Sports’James Ham.
However, the Knicks reportedly don’t have plans to move Morris at the moment, per Yahoo Sports, though we all know how quickly things could change if New York receives the right offer.
And the right offer could very well come along soon (as in one containing a first-round pick), especially when you factor in Morris’ high level of play this season and the fact that he’s on an expiring contract. Those two factors, plus New York not being in contention for a playoff spot this year, make Morris a prime trade candidate.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
3. KYLE KUZMA, LA LAKERS
The closer we get to the 2020 NBA trade deadline, the more it looks like Kyle Kuzmawill be one of the players traded. He’s struggled through injury and acclimation with his new role so far this year, and he’s averaging 12 points on a career-low 42.5 percent shooting for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Originally, most of the reports coming out of L.A. stated that the Lakers were willing to hear offers for their third-year forward, but weren’t going out of their way to trade him.
However, the most recent report on Kuzma’s trade candidacy, courtesy of the Los Angeles Times, stated that it was actually Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka who called the Kings in order to gauge their interest in the Utah product, and not the other way around as many originally believed. That makes a whole lot more sense, because Kuzma doesn’t even fit on Sacramento’s roster all that well, not with all of the young frontcourt depth they already have.
This situation is one to monitor, but Kuzma’s poor fit on the new-look Lakers could, and probably will, lead to his departure prior to next month’s deadline. His spot on the roster would be better used on an additional bench playmaker for Los Angeles.
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
2. KEVIN LOVE, CLEVELAND
The situation in Ohio between Kevin Love and the Cleveland Cavaliers has had moments of pure ugliness, including last weekend when Love blatantly showed up his teammates and head coach in the middle of a game. And that came on the heels of a report that stated Love had gotten into it with his general manager Koby Altman.
The five-time All-Star went on to apologize publicly for his actions and ended up unpunished by his team, but it’s clear at this point this pairing needs a split, and that the Cavs need to find a trade partner to take the floor-spacing power forward.
Even so, Love desperately wants out of Cleveland, that much is obvious without even having to read the latest reports, so the Cavaliers might have to bite the bullet and attach assets in order to get rid of him, lest they allow him to have more flare-ups of bad attitude that could prove harmful in their young, rebuilding locker room.
Makes sense, too, considering the Pistons are struggling mightily due to injury on the year and have an expensive roster that could use a complete reset. What’s more, because Drummond is set to hit free agency this summer (all but certain, as he has a player option on his deal for next year), Detroit would be wise to move him and land a few assets that could help them with the rebuild to come.
Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein recently revealed that a source of his believes Drummond will be moved within the next month:
As for Pistons center Andre Drummond … one source briefed on Detroit's attempts to trade Drummond expressed confidence this week a deal to move Drummond will materialize before the Feb. 6 trade deadline
And a local reporter in Detroit thinks the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics could be interested in the two-time All-Star center.
On the year, Drummond is averaging 17.5 points, a league-leading 16.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.9 blocks per game – monster averages that should pique the interest of motivated teams around the Association.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
Previewing Thursday’s Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (10-27) and Detroit Pistons (14-24) square off for the second time in three days, this time at Little Caesars Arena Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. We analyze the Cavaliers-Pistons odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.
Cavaliers at Pistons: Key injuries
Cavaliers
PG Dante Exum (illness) out
PF Larry Nance Jr. (knee) out
SF Kevin Porter Jr. (knee) out
SG Dylan Windler (shin) out
Pistons
PF Blake Griffin (knee) out
PG Reggie Jackson (back) out
SG Luke Kennard (knee) out
PF Markieff Morris (foot) out
SG Khyri Thomas (foot) out
Cavaliers at Pistons: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The Pistons (-294) are just too expensive in the second end of this home-and-home. It wouldn’t be advised to risk three times your investment on any team, let alone lowly Detroit Basketball. AVOID.
The CAVALIERS (+7.5, -121) are catching nearly four buckets from the Pistons (-7.5, +100). The Pistons defeated the Cavs 115-113 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Tuesday. The Cavaliers are 3-8 ATS in the past 11 games on the road, so you’d be going against the grain a little here. They’re also just 1-4 ATS in the past five overall.
However, the Pistons are 3-9 ATS in the past 12 games overall, while going 1-5 ATS in the past six games overall. They should pull out a win against their Lake Erie rivals, but they won’t win by more than four buckets.
The OVER 221.5 (-106) is worth a small-unit play, as the total has inched over the line in each of the past five meetings. The Over is also 4-0 in the past four for Cleveland, and 8-3 in its last 11 away from home.
For the Pistons, it’s been all about the Over lately, too. The Over is 7-0 in their past seven as a favorite, 5-1 in the past six at home and 7-2 in the previous nine games overall, too.
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Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose are proving there’s still value in last generation’s superstars.
THROWBACK TUESDAY: Carmelo Anthony was waived by the Bulls, following his failed stint Houston, on Feb. 1 of last year. After spending the rest of that season, the entire summer and the early part of 2019-20 without a team, or even an inkling of interest league-wide,Anthony finally landed with the Blazers, who were struggling mightily and in need of help.
Well, Anthony has provided that help. On the season, the 10-time All-Star is averaging 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 41.1 percent from three, one of the 25 most-accurate marks in the Association this year. And just last night, on the road with Portland needing a bucket to earn a tough win on the road at Toronto,Anthony came through with a beautiful throwback pull-up midrange jumper to seal the game for the Blazers.
Anthony wasn’t the only vintage star to hit a game-sealing bucket last night either. Derrick Rose had one of his own for Detroit,sinking a pretty elbow floater for two of his 24 points on the evening. Rose, who’s averaging over 17 points nightly on 48.6 percent shooting, is just the165th-highest paid player this season.
Anthony and Rose are doing a great job of reminding NBA front offices, most of whom are mostly focused on the analytics these days, that there can be huge value found in trusting the league’s aging stars. They may not be the prototypical shot-takers for the modern game, but players like Anthony and Rose, or even Chris Paul, know how to get buckets, and can still help teams win. The three of them proved it last night, after all.
It was an easy call for both sides, as Davis basically turned down what would have been a four-year, $145.7 million extension and instead will be eligible to sign a five-year, $201.8 million deal this offseason. That’s if he signs with the Lakers, of course, which everyone still expects him to do.
Previewing Tuesday’s Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.
The Detroit Pistons (13-24) and Cleveland Cavaliers (10-26) do battle at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland at 7 p.m. ET. We analyze the Pistons-Cavaliers odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.
Pistons at Cavaliers: Key injuries
Pistons
PF Blake Griffin (knee) out
PG Reggie Jackson (back) out
SG Luke Kennard (knee) out
PF Markieff Morris (foot) out
SG Khyri Thomas (foot) out
SG Tony Snell (illness) probable
Cavaliers
PF Larry Nance Jr. (knee) out
C Tristan Thompson (illness) out
SF Kevin Porter Jr. (knee) out
SG Dylan Windler (leg) out
Pistons at Cavaliers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 8;10 a.m. ET.
The PISTONS (-167) are banged up, but the Cavaliers (+135) are a mess. Pick your poison. Cavs PF Kevin Love is reportedly frustrated with the play of the young players around him, and was visibly upset with SG Collin Sexton last time out. That type of non-unity isn’t going to cut the mustard.
New to sports betting? Every $1.67 wagered on the Pistons ML will profit $1 if they win.
The PISTONS (-3.5, -106) are worth a roll of the dice. They’re not that much better in the win-loss column than the Cavaliers (+3.5, -1115). The Pistons are 4-1 ATS in the past five as a favorite, and they’re 5-2 ATS in the past seven against teams with a winning percentage under .400, too.
Cleveland has earned its old pre-LeBron nickname – the Cadavers – back. The Cavs are 5-11-1 ATS in the past 17 at home, and 0-4 ATS in the past four overall.
The OVER 214.5 (-115) is attractive. The Over has hit in six of the Pistons’ past eight, and is a perfect 6-0 in their past six as a favorite. For the Cavaliers, the Over has connected in five of the previous seven, and seven of the past 10 as a ‘dog.
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LeBron James had a big game but the Detroit Pistons made anything but easy for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
It was a block party Sunday night in Los Angeles and the Lakers showed for another night why they are the most feared team in the NBA when it comes to blocking shots, racking up a total of 20 blocks on their way to a 106-99 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
LeBron James had a triple-double of 21 points, 14 rebounds and, 11 assists while Anthony Davis led the way for the Lakers with 24 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high eight blocks.
While the Lakers led for much of the night, they were never able to truly pull away the same way they did in their previous two games where they pushed leads far into the double-digits before eventually letting their opponents back in the game. The Pistons made things difficult but the Lakers ability to block shots, with 22 blocks to just six for Detroit.
Anthony Davis, as usual, led the way with the blocks but JaVale McGee had six blocks and Dwight Howard had five off the bench.
Derrick Rose had a game-high 28 points off the bench in the loss for Detroit.
The Lakers have one more game on their remaining homestand, Tuesday night against the New York Knicks before playing seven of their next nine games on the road.
Behind Alec Burks and Omari Spellman, the Golden State Warriors bench unit registered their highest-scoring night since 2009.
Against the Detroit Pistons, the Golden State Warriors were down two key contributors heading into the game, late in the third quarter, it didn’t get any easier when Draymond Green was ejected.
Green was thrown out of the game by referee, Tre Maddox with a little under five minutes into the third period, subtracting another player from the Warriors already thin lineup.
With Green hitting the showers early, and both D’Angelo Russell (shoulder) and Kevon Looney (abdomen) ruled out, someone needed to handle a bulk of the minutes against Detroit.
It wasn’t just one player, but the entire Golden State Warriors bench unit carried the load against the Pistons. The understaffed Warriors couldn’t overcome the pairing of Derrick Rose and Andre Drummond. Yet, their bench ended up turning in a valiant effort.
Breakout journeyman, Alec Burks came off the bench to lead the Warriors in scoring with 27 on 5-of-13 shooting from the field. Burks was a technician getting to the charity stripe, knocking down 14-of-14 attempts from the free-throw line against Detroit. The Colorado product added seven board and five assists, potentially boosting his trade value.
Behind Burks was big-man Omari Spellman, who provided the Warriors with a spark off the bench against the Pistons. The former Villanova Wildcat scored 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, adding a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Late in the fourth quarter against Detroit, Spellman threw down a powerful one-handed jam to put an exclamation point on his impressive night off the bench.
After the game, Steve Kerr praised the bench’s effort to reporters, saying the Warriors needed them after their slow start.
“The bench came in a did a great job, and they had to because we got off to a very slow start — second game in a row that we’ve really came out of the gate slow and had to play from behind for pretty much the whole night — it’s a tough way to play, so the bench did a really good job for us.”
With the Warriors’ slim roster struggling near the halfway point of the season, Kerr may need to rely on his bench at a similar rate until Looney and Russell return to the lineup healthy.
Previewing Sunday’s Detroit Pistons at Los Angeles Lakers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.
The Detroit Pistons (13-23) meet up with the Los Angeles Lakers (28-7) Sunday at 10 p.m. ET at Staples Center. We analyze the Pistons-Lakers odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.
Pistons at Lakers: Key injuries
Pistons
PF Blake Griffin (knee) questionable
PF Markieff Morris (foot) questionable
SG Luke Kennard (knee) out
SF Khyri Thomas (foot) out
PG Reggie Jackson (back) out
Lakers
PG Alex Caruso (calf) questionable
C DeMarcus Cousins (knee) out
PF Anthony Davis (shoulder) probable
Pistons at Lakers: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The Lakers (-1667) are monster moneyline favorites in this contest, but there isn’t even close to enough value to bet them for the outright win. The Pistons (+850) offer an 8.5-1 return, but considering their injuries, it’s best to PASS.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Lakers to win outright returns a profit of just $0.06.
The Lakers (-14.5, -115) are 14.5 point favorites over the PISTONS (+14.5, -106) Sunday night, but that seems like far too many points. The Lakers have covered the spread in just two of their last 10 games as they tend to allow bad teams to hang around for too long. Take the Pistons to cover the spread and hope they can keep it close into the fourth quarter.
The total for this matchup is set at 217.5 points, which seems low considering how dominant the Lakers offense has been this season. With this game being in Los Angeles, expect the Lakers to score well over 110 points, which should cover the total. Take the OVER 217.5 (-128).
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Christian Wood 
It was an easy call for both sides, as Davis basically turned down what would have been a four-year, $145.7 million extension and instead will be eligible to sign a five-year, $201.8 million deal this offseason. That’s if he signs with the Lakers, of course, which everyone still expects him to do.
