NBA: Detroit Pistons vs. New Orleans Pelicans Preview, Odds, Prediction

So Detroit Pistons travel to New Orleans, and that game promises a lot. The Pistons have used Miami’s energy problems to beat the Heat in Florida and make a big-time upset. Meanwhile, the Pels pumped up the volume in the recent few games and look pretty furious. Both their offense and defense look solid, and that’s why this team chases the top spot in the West, despite having certain problems with injuries and absences.

Preview

Detroit Pistons (7-19, +400) took a W from Miami, beating the hell out of the Heat last night, 116-96. Now, not many people expected this, even though Miami did have injuries and fatigue bothering them. The final 12 minutes saw the guests from Michigan scoring 38 points while allowing only 23, and that’s when the game went in their favor.

Bojan Bogdanovic had 31 points, shooting 12-for-16 from the field. We’ve mentioned before that the Croatian player is a target of multiple top teams and that we just might see him in some big trade during winter.

Babo, as the fans back home call him, hit seven threes in nine attempts. Alec Burks scored 18 off the bench with nine boards, while Saddiq Bay had 14 also off the bench. Isaiah Stewart posted a double-double with 11 buckets and boards, Cory Joseph also had 11 points. Cade Cunningham was out, and he will be tonight as well.

New Orleans Pelicans (15-8, -550) won four in a row, three of them at home. Still, that won’t diminish the success of the boys from Louisiana because the rivals have been Thunder, Raptors, and Nuggets, while the sole win on the road was in San Antonio.

The latest contest was against the Nuggets, whom they routinely beat 121-106. Denver was up in the opening sequence, but since the middle of the third, once New Orleans took over the wheel, they didn’t look back. The Pels shot 50.6% from the field, and had fewer boards, 36 compared to 43, but still, that didn’t affect the final score.

Jose Alvarado came off the bench to stuff 38 points in 27 minutes, killing the Nuggets, 12-for-19 from the field, and 8-for-11 for three. His pace was unreachable for Denver’s backcourt, who was stunned by the way this fella played. Zion was solid with 25 buckets and six boards, and Valanciunas had 13, while Trey Murphy and Willy Hernangomez scored 12 each.

Head to Head Games

In two games last year, the Pelicans were the winners on both occasions. Their first victory was at home, 109-93 and the second on the road, 111-101. For the moment, the franchise from New Orleans has three victories over the Pistons.

Prediction

We see that the Pistons won two of three previous games, but that’s because of other circumstances, Dallas was on tour through the East, and the Heat came back from the road trip from the West, playing the second of back-to-back nights. New Orleans doesn’t have such problems, and they look fresh, unlike the Pistons who were on the court less than 24 hours ago. That’s why we go with the hosts to win and cover a 9-point spread.

Pick: Pelicans -9