Pistons vs. Pelicans: Odds swing as Detroit gets back to full strength

The Detroit Pistons will take on the New Orleans Pelicans and for the first time in awhile, will be favored to win.

Detroit is hoping to get both Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk back from injury tonight, and the roster will be at full strength for the first time since the beginning of the season.

The New Orleans Pelicans have been decimated by injuries to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram and have lost four in a row with a lineup full of young players and replacement veterans.

Zion is out indefinitely and Ingram is listed as questionable for tonight, though the Pelicans still haven’t submitted their roster to the official NBA injury report.

The Pelicans will be playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing last night in Cleveland, and the Pistons are coming off a nice comeback win over the Cavs the day before.

New Orleans is also bad on the road, so this is a game the Pistons should have a good chance of winning.

Detroit Pistons vs. New Orleans Pelicans: Odds, spread, over/under and best bets

According to WynnBET, the Pistons are three point favorites at home vs. the Pelicans, the first time they’ve been favored in a long time.

If Ingram plays that number could flip towards New Orleans, but if he is out, it will probably hold.

The money lines are set at -145 for the Pistons and +120 for the Pels, so the books aren’t making either team a heavy favorite.

The over under is 215 and I love the under in this one, as the Pelicans have been struggling mightily to score and the Pistons join them near the bottom of the league offensively. When you factor in the Pelicans are playing for the second night in a row and 6th time in nine days, this has the makings of a low scoring game.

I’d take Detroit to win plus the under, but I’d also warn that this has all of the makings of a letdown game for the Pistons, who are coming off a big win and will be trying to integrate Jerami Grant back into the offense, which may be bumpy at first.

The Pelicans are also a scrappy team and have been playing good teams closely even without their best players.

Cade Cunningham could have a tough night going up against fellow-rookie Herb Jones as well as Pels’ glue guy Josh Hart, but I still like him to fill the stat sheet with rebounds and assists even if his shot isn’t falling.

I would also ride Frank Jackson in this one, as the Pelicans’ bench is thin and Jackson will be eager to have a big game against his former team. His 19 points lifted Detroit in their win over Cleveland and I like him to do it again tonight.

With Olynyk coming back, Trey Lyles will probably lose some minutes unless they can find a way to play together, so you might want to wait a few games to see how the rotation shakes out.

How to watch Pistons vs. Pelicans

Detroit tips off vs. New Orleans at 7:00 PM ET and you can watch on Bally Sports Detroit or listen on 97.1 FM the Ticket.