Game Time: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 19th, 2022 

Venue:  Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  Cavaliers -8.5; O/U 216

Fanduel:  Spread:  NL

BetMGM:  Spread: Cavaliers -8.5; O/U 216

Pistons:  19-51, 14th place Eastern Conference

Cavaliers: 39-30, 6th place Eastern Conference

An Eastern Conference NBA matchup.  This is a battle where the outcome appears obvious… It's not.  The Pistons, one of the worst teams in all of basketball, are in the middle of a great run.  Winning?... No, not really… I mean sometimes sure…  The Pistons are winning in the best way an NBA team could win… AGAINST THE SPREAD!  The Pistons are 9-1 ATS over their last ten games.  For a little bit, the Pistons were 10-0 ATS.  It has been a bettors dream that one of the worst teams in basketball has been freaking reliable at making money. The cavaliers on the other hand are a 6th place playoff bound middle of the pack Eastern Conference team… that has gone 4-5-1 ATS over their last ten games.  You may love watching PG Darius Garland rocket up the charts as the next big hit… or PF/C Evan Mobley keep making the case for ROY… but they haven’t been making you much money have they?  Listen, the Pistons do not have what it takes to be a winning team this year and may again not have what it takes to win next year, but they are a fun bet.

The Detroit Pistons have won 5 of their last ten games.  During that stretch they went 9-1 ATS.  They have been playing tougher even in losses as this group of kids are learning to navigate the waters of the pros together instead of next to each other.  Their last game was a big win over the Orlando Magic 134-120.  It will be remembered for the unlikely 51 point game put in by SF Saddiq Bey… Saddiq was the 19th pick of the 2020 draft and normally averages 16 ppg, yet against the anemic defense of the Magic he was really feeling it! Saddiq shot 10-14 from 3-point land and ended up 17-27 overall with another 7 points at the charity stripe… he all of a sudden had a 51 point game.  What it immediately did was propel the Pistons to an easy win… but also what it did was completely cheapen the 50 point game that Kyrie Irving had against Orlando.  It turns out that against lousy defense anyone can score 50 and Steve Nash should put the false modesty and compliments to his biggest headache back on the shelf.  The Pistons spent the last 2 games without their rookie leader point guard Cade Cunningham who has “illness” which could be code for a positive test or could be a simple stomach flu… so we do not know if he will play in this one. PF Marvin Bagley III is flat out a better player now that he is off the Sacramento Kings… he regularly drops high teens in points to go with some needed rebounds.  In the last 4 games Marvin had 20 pts and 11 rbs… TWICE!  In fact he may single-handedly be the missing piece that is getting us all the wins ATS.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have won just 4 of their last ten games.  They unfortunately are living life with C Jarrett Allen on the injury list.  As good as the kids are around Jarrett… It is becoming obvious the bug man was making the world go round in Cleveland.  Without Jarrett Allen’s nightly double-double of 16-11… The Cavs are indeed struggling.  PF Evan Mobley has slid over to Center and the added defensive usage has sapped his effectiveness on the other end.  He no longer can play like an opportunist but must find the way to be the heart of each and every post play… That is hard to do for a rookie no matter how tall.  Point Guard Darius Garland has truly arrived.  It is nothing for him to hit 24 points or 25 points or 24 points or 22 points… wait those are his last for ppg’s… They were preceded by a 41 point explosion against Indiana in a win on March 8th.  

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The Pistons are 19-51 on the season, but 38-32 ATS.  They have logged 38 Overs and 32 Unders.  They are a dreadful 8-28 on the road.

The cavaliers are 39-30 on the season, but 38-23-3 ATS.  They have notched 28 Overs, 40 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 21-12 in home games.

Detroit is 29th in scoring with 103.9 ppg, 27th in rebounds with 43.1 per game, and 23rd in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  On defense they rank 22nd while allowing 112.4 ppg.

The Cavaliers are 24th in scoring with 107 ppg, 15th in rebounds with 44.6 per game, and 19th in AST/TO ratio at 1.7. On defense they really excel with a ranking of #3 while holding opponents to 104 ppg.  Of course those defensive numbers were built with Jarrett Allen in the middle swatting shots and grabbing boards… they may be unreliable numbers until his return… or do a lot of teams give up 124 points to the Pacers?

Our prediction for Saturday, March 19th is…. Detroit 118 - Cavs 116

The Pistons will win or almost win… either way the 8.5 points in your pocket for betting the red hot Pistons will give you plenty of breathing room.  Without Jarrett Allen in the game… and with Evan Mobley stretched thin… the defense will not be what it normally is for Cleveland, as evidenced by the games the Allen has missed.

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Detroit is 19-8 ATS in March games the last 3 seasons.

Cleveland is 10-3 ATS in home games where the total is 210-219.5.

8 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER the last 3 seasons.

Pistons: SF Jerami Grant (knee) Prob ** PG Cade Cunningham (ill) Prob

Cavaliers: C Jarrett Allen (finger) Out ** PG Collin Sexton (knee) Out

Pistons: PF Marvin Bagley III, SF Saddiq Bet, C Isaiah Stewart, PG Killian Hayes, SG Cory Joseph

Cavaliers: PF Lamar Stevens, SF Lauri Markkanen, C Evan Mobley, PG Darius Garland, SG Isaac Okkoro