Pistons betting odds vs. Pacers: Can Killian Hayes outplay his nemesis?

Killian Hayes and the Detroit Pistons will try to get their 3rd-straight win tonight on the road against Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers.

Hayes and Haliburton will always be connected, as the Pistons chose Killian with the 7th pick and Haliburton fell to 12th, but has so far been the better player, a fact that some in Detroit may never get over.

It’s strange that no one piles on the Knicks for taking Obi Toppin, or the Wizards taking  Deni Avdija or the Suns taking  Jalen Smith or the Spurs for taking  Devin Vassell (the four players taken between Hayes and Haliburton), as apparently the Pistons were the only team that missed in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Killian Hayes has been playing the best basketball of his career and is coming off his best game of the season, a 26-point effort against the Uber-tanking OKC Thunder, whose shameless roster barely contains a single NBA player.

Hayes would love to outplay Haliburton tonight and quiet his critics, and he should get his chance, as Cade Cunningham is listed as questionable with a sore hip, Cory Joseph is questionable, Marvin Bagley III is out, as are Jerami Grant and Hamidou Diallo.

That leaves a lot of shots for Killian, who would love nothing more than to dominate this matchup with Haliburton, and will be extra motivated tonight against another tanking team that has lost six in a row.

Detroit Pistons @ Indiana Pacers: Odds, spread, over/under, best bets and Killian Hayes

According to WynnBET, the Detroit Pistons are 2.5 point underdogs on the road against the Indiana Pacers, a pretty good sign that the books think Cade Cunningham is not going to play.

If he were, Detroit would likely be favored, as they have played nothing but close games lately, covering all but one spread in their last 22 games.

However, with just three games separating these teams, I have a feeling this is going to be one the Pistons will do their best to lose, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they failed to cover this one and lost the game.

The money lines are set at -145 for the Pacers and +120 for the Pistons, so the books are thinking the same thing.

The over/under is a combined 232, which seems high considering how many players are out. In addition to all of the Pistons who are out, the Pacers will be missing Chris Duarte, Malcolm Brogdon is questionable and Myles Turner, CJ McConnell and TJ Warren have all been ruled out for the season.

I like the under in this one.

With a lot of the Pistons’ regulars potentially on the bench, I love Saddiq Bey and Killian Hayes to go off in this one and pile up the daily fantasy points.

Hayes has been playing much more aggressively and is getting to the rim at will, as it seems like he is finally figuring out how to use his athleticism and size to his advantage.

Isaiah Livers will be your best low-cost play, as he’ll likely be in the starting lineup again and knocked down 4-of-5 from long range in the last one.

How to watch Pistons @ Pacers

The game in Indiana has a weird tip-off time of 5:00 PM ET and you can watch (maybe) on BSDET EXTRA or listen on 950 AM. This tank-tastic game wasn’t even worth putting on FM.