Pistons odds vs. Pacers: Big game for Detroit’s draft standing

The Detroit Pistons will take on the Indiana Pacers tonight at home looking for their second win in a row.

They continued their domination over the Raptors last night and will look to keep it going against fellow cellar dweller Indiana, who has been slumping of late.

Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey and Jerami Grant have combined for more than 60 points in each of the last three games and are starting to find some chemistry after early-season struggles.

This game has implications for the Rookie of the Year race, as Cade Cunningham will look to improve his resume against fellow top rookie Chris Duarte (though Duarte is questionable with a toe injury) and the game could have implications for the Pistons’ lottery odds as well.

Detroit is 5.5 games behind Indiana for the 13th spot in the Eastern Conference, so it is unlikely that they catch them, but the Pacers have been slumping lately and the Pistons playing better, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility yet.

The Pistons want to stay in the bottom three to guarantee better lottery odds, but are also trying to win some games to take momentum into the offseason and speed up their player development.

Will Detroit take care of business at home?

Detroit Pistons vs. Indiana Pacers: Odds, spread, over/under and best bets

According to WynnBET, the Pistons are 3.5 point underdogs at home against the Pacers, which is likely due to this being the second game of a back-to-back for Detroit.

The Pacers are coming off a split with Orlando and would not likely be favored in this game if the two teams were on full rest.

The money lines are set at +135 for the Pistons and -165 for the Pacers and the over/under is set at a combined 230.5 points.

The second game of a back-to-back is always tough, and will be tougher if Detroit doesn’t get Frank Jackson and Marvin Bagley III back, as their bench has struggled without them.

I do like the young Pistons to keep it close at home, and they’ve been playing much better of late, but it’s hard to take a team on the second game of a back-to-back. However, if you like Detroit just take them to win outright and forget the points.

The value bet here may be taking the under, as 230.5 is very high for two teams that average just over 212 per game combined on the season. Add in the potential for tired legs and I think the under is a safe bet here even though the two have been scoring much more of late.

I’d stick with Cade Cunningham for daily fantasy, as he is trying to make his case for Rookie of the Year and should continue to pile up stats tonight. I really like Saddiq Bey in this one, as he could potentially have Buddy Hield guarding him, which could be a disaster for Indiana.

The Pistons’ bench hasn’t been good lately, but Hamidou Diallo should get plenty of run and was the only guy off the pine in double digits last night. The Pistons could lean more on their bench to preserve the starter’s legs, which means Hami could go off.

How to watch Pistons vs. Pacers

The game vs. Indiana will tip-off at Little Caesar’s Arena at 7:00 PM ET and you can watch on Bally Sports Detroit or listen on 950 AM.