Player over team bets might be way to go with Detroit Pistons
Manzo: My favorite way to bet a team underachieving is to go player props. For the longest time the oddsmakers were sleeping on Cunningham’s rebounds and assist totals. Doing that research and seeing he was playing above the recommended betting line made me confident in the bets I was making.
Similar with former Piston’ Reggie Bullock. Earlier this season he was given a larger role due to injuries, regularly hitting 20-plus points a game. He was being drastically undervalued despite the role change, so I took advantage of that.
Mining for these trends can be helpful.
What is your opinion on alternate lines, like taking the Pistons +19 because they probably won’t get blown out.
Manzo: If I do alternate lines, I try to parlay them with other games to increase the odds. You can also do this with the “teaser” format, where you essentially get a set amount of points added to each game. Odds are a little better than a solo alternate line, but in sports, anything can happen and usually some team still loses, so I don’t do them often.
Any prop bets you think would be especially good with a team like the Pistons?
Manzo: The oddsmakers caught up to Cunningham’s assists and rebound numbers. I haven’t analyzed them all specifically, but curious what Cunningham’s points + assists + rebounds number is at. He’s capable of filling the stat sheet, and if it’s not too high, that could be one to look at.
The Pistons are a pretty inconsistent team outside of Cunningham’s stats, so I usually shy away now that the lines have moved on him.