Cavaliers vs. Pistons NBA expert prediction and odds for Friday, March 1 (Bet on Detroit?)
Betting odds, pick and prediction for the Detroit Pistons' matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
By Peter Dewey
The Detroit Pistons host the Cleveland Cavaliers for the fourth time this season on Friday night, but Detroit has played the Cavs tough this season.
In the first three meetings, the Pistons have lost by eight, nine, and seven points, with the most recent seven-point loss coming in Cleveland. Now, Detroit gets a chance to host the Cavs fresh off of an upset win against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
Let’s break down the odds and a best bet for this division battle on the first day of March:
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Cavaliers vs. Pistons odds, spread and total
Cavaliers vs. Pistons how to watch
- Date: Friday, March 1
- Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
- Venue: Little Caesars Arena
- How to watch: Bally Sports Detroit, Bally Sports Ohio
- Cavs record: 38-20
- Pistons record: 9-49
Cavaliers vs. Pistons injury reports
Cavaliers injury report
- Emoni Bates – out
- Sharife Cooper – out
- Ty Jerome – out
- Donovan Mitchell – questionable
- Isaiah Mobley – out
- Pete Nance – out
- Tristan Thompson – out
Pistons injury report
- Jared Rhoden – out
- Marcus Sasser – out
- Stanley Umude – out
- Buddy Boeheim – out
- Tosan Evbuomwan – out
Cavaliers vs. Pistons key players to watch
Cleveland Cavaliers
Donovan Mitchell: Mitchell is questionable for this game, and he’s scored less than 20 points in two of his last three games. However, Mitchell has also scored 30+ in three of his last five games. He also dropped 45 points in his last meeting against Detroit, so he could go nuclear in this matchup.
Detroit Pistons
Jalen Duren: This is a tough matchup for Duren against two elite bigs Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Duren has a double-double in four straight games, but he had just 10 points and nine rebounds in his last meeting with the Cavs.
Cavaliers vs. Pistons prediction and pick
Don’t sleep on the Pistons here as nine-point dogs.
Detroit would have covered or pushed each game if the line was set at nine points against the Cavs this season, and Cleveland hasn’t exactly dominated against the spread on the road in the 2023-24 campaign.
Despite being one of the hottest teams in the NBA, the Cavs are just 7-8-1 ATS this season as road favorites. As for the Pistons, they are 12-10-1 ATS as home dogs, a sign that they may be able to keep this game close.
Cleveland lost in overtime to Chicago on Wednesday, and the team could be without Mitchell (questionable in this one). I’m riding with Detroit to hang around at home.
Pick: Pistons +9 (-110)
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.