Pistons vs. Lakers: Odds, predictions and best fantasy bets

The Detroit Pistons will take on the hate Los Angeles Lakers tonight at Little Caesar’s Arena and will be underdogs at home once again.

The Pistons are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Warriors’ bench, who out-hustled Detroit for most of the game and got a shorthanded win on the second game of a road back-to-back.

The Lakers have lost three in a row and LeBron James called out his team’s “urgency” after the last one, so you can expect the Lakers to come out with some extra juice in the Motor City.

The Lakers are one of the biggest teams in the NBA and the Pistons were small before they lost both of their centers, so keeping LA off the boards and from getting easy buckets in the paint will be key to the game.

Detroit can beat the Lakers, but they will have to make shots, get back on defense to stop transition and force LA to commit turnovers so they can get some easy baskets of their own.

Here are the odds, some predictions and the best fantasy bets for the game.

Detroit Pistons vs. LA Lakers: Odds, spread and over/under

According to WynnBET, the Detroit Pistons are 7.5 point underdogs tonight at home vs. the Lakers. Detroit has been hanging tight in most games, so if you think they will again, take the points.

The money lines are set at +255 for the Pistons and -310 for the Lakers. As a bettor, I hate taking points, so I never bet an underdog unless I think they can win the game. I do think the Pistons can win this one, so I’d just bet the money line and take the better odds or stay away.

The over/under is 210, and I’d just keep betting the under until the Pistons show that they can consistently score more than 100 points, which they haven’t so far this season.

Detroit Pistons vs. LA Lakers: Predictions and best fantasy bets

The Pistons are going to be relying heavily on guards and wings in this one, as they could be missing Isaiah Stewart and are already without Kelly Olynyk. Cade Cunningham has really settled down after his first three games and has consistently stuffed the stat sheet since, so he is a nice play here against the Lakers’ guards.

I really don’t like many matchups for the Pistons tonight, but if you want a high risk/reward play the Pistons have a few. Someone is going to have to play center, so you could get Luka Garza or Trey Lyles for cheap and both could get extended run tonight. Of course, both of them could get torched by the Lakers’ bigs, so like I said, risk/reward.

I also like Hamidou Diallo as a cheap play, as he ended with 10 points and five rebounds in the last game and could get even more minutes tonight.

Anthony Davis has killed the Pistons in the past, and if Beef Stew is out, you can count on that happening again, so if you have to bet on the dreaded Lakers, he’s your guy.

Detroit vs. Los Angeles: How to watch

You can catch the Pistons vs. Lakers on Bally Sports Detroit or listen at 950 AM or 104.3 FM. The game does tip off at 6:00 PM ET tonight, so it is a bit of an early start. LCA will be full and loud tonight, so let’s hope the Pistons can get a big win against LeBron and the Lakers.